V3 Announcements

Here in SOTF, every day there is an announcement that is made, announcing those who've been killed, usually who by, and how. We'll occasionally gain insights into the goings-on behind the scenes with the terrorists, and it's here that we get our look at the demented mastermind, Danya, and his twisted sense of humour.

Lots of work usually goes into every announcement here at SOTF, and it's appropriate to give credit where credit is due.

(credit for each announcement will go here)

First Announcement
"Mr. Danya, sir...don't you think it's time for the ---"

"Hush, darn you. The speaker's on."

Mr. Danya paused to clear his throat with a loud ahem. "Hello lucky duckies. Having fun with the game? I know that Boy 22 certainly had fun killing off G06...shotgun fun, eh?" He laughed, remembering the scene perfectly. The struggle, the girl's will to live even when she got shot, the cutting of B22 with her pitiful hacksaw. Mr. Danya laughed once more, that hideous, sick laugh. It sounded exactly as it did on the airplane...only, this time it was all the more twisted.

"Alright, alright, enough of that. I'm dissapointed in all of you, though.... Only two kills! Do better!!" He sounded angry now, how different from his light-hearted, mocking voice. "I'm angry now, so I am going to state some Danger Zones. The School Building, and the Bamboo Coppice." He laughed into the mic once more. "I hope you all read the Handbook. Danger Zones are dangerous. Linger there too long, and we shall gladly transmit those awful radio transmissions to your collars and..." He paused for a dramatic effect. "KABOOM!" This sent him into a roar of continuous laughter. "Anyways..." His laughter died down quickly. "Here's the list of your dead friends. Shame that there were only two...

G06 - Helena Van Garret. Her fight to live was nice and all...I didn't really expect her to live for that long. B22 made quick work of her, indeed. Don't you just love bittersweet endings? The second death was B13 - Sydney Morvran. Darn was this guy annoying. I have no clue how he survived the last SOTF ACT...oh yeah, hiding away with his so-called friends like a little sissy coward. I was really tired of his little hippy friend talk. Whatever..." He sighed. "I'm sure that both of their deaths messed things up for some people. G06's death will have a heavy effect on what's her face, and B13's death...well, I think their whole group is pretty messed up. Shame that one girl had to mess everything up so badly. Yeah, you know who you are..."

Mr. Danya laughed once more. "This is Mr. Danya. Over and out, kiddies!"

Second Announcement
"Sir, Mr. Danya, sir...8 deaths, already! Isn't that profound?" "Darn it, why won't you ever just be quiet when I start an announcement?" Mr. Danya paused for a dramatic effect, and then laughed his hideous laugh. "8 deaths indeed. And when did that all happen? Day one...and the day isn't even done, yet!"

This caused another laugh from Mr. Danya. It was his schtick to laugh a lot, afterall, and talk about luck and all that jazz. That's what made him crazy. That's what made him who he was...Mr. Danya, insane conductor of all what was going on.

"Ah, as I was saying...I'm gonna read off the deaths in order of their happening. Soon after my first announcement, both Niniko Kishinawa and Tayli Vreeland died via collar explosion like the fools they are. Remember I told you about that one guy's death last time? That...that...Syd guy. Yep, she freaking tripped and fell like an idiot and killed him. Niniko, well, there's nothing sad to tell about him." He sighed, obviously dissapointed in the way that Niniko had died. "He fell asleep, and must've slept through the announcement. Shame, shame. He would've been a contender, and cool for marketting." At this, he began to snicker himself into a laughing fit.

"Alright, alright..." Mr. Danya wheezed. "Next deaths...Gabrielle Minase, killed by Daisuke Andou. No, the fight wasn't cool at all, nothing great, really. Just a lot of talking. Minase should've known he was going to die, though. I mean...like, he was up against three, or four people. Shoulda figured he was going to die like a fool." He coughed into the mic, hoping to call more attention to his words incase anyone was asleep. "Next to die was that Morgana something or another girl. Um...Vendvmagli, yeah, that's it. You might know her better as Anya, though. Had quite a struggle with Jacob, if I do say so myself." Again, Mr. Danya coughed into the mic.

"And then, in the Lighthouse, it was August Masbeth's turn to die after a great fight against Hawley Faust. For a while there, I was hoping that she'd win. You know, she was fighting to avenge Helena. Yep, that girl that was killed by Faust last announcement. After she died, it was Terry's turn to bite the bullet and die. Boo hoo, boo hoo, I guess." He said the last sentences in a mocking tone, acting as if he was truly sad about their deaths. He wasn't. Not one bit sad. Dissapointed, maybe, but not sad, or remorseful at the fact that he and many others were orchestrating this dreadful program. "Now, finally, it's time to announce the Danger Zones. Danger Zones have been lifted from the Bamboo Coppice, and the School Building, meaning now you can travel freely. The new Danger Zones are The Lighthouse and The Waterfall.

"Erm, that is all for today! Remember to keep up the killings, and fight to survive, play to win!"

Third Announcement
blitzkrieg167 has entered the "SOTF Discussion" Chatroom. Zynny: Yo Blitz! blitzkrieg167: hi ChaosInBlood: How you doing man? TaichiSpirit: Hey there Blitz. :-) blitzkrieg167: im doing fine, and hi Tai blitzkrieg167: did you guys see the recent episode of sotf/? Zynny: I did. ChaosInBlood: Heh, who hasn't? TaichiSpirit: I missed it. :-( thelastbreath: your terrible TaichiSpirit: My little brother was sick, and I had to drive him to the doctor's. :-/ blitzkrieg167: the episode was greatish TaichiSpirit: Got a summary? Zynny: Edward's death was sad... Palooza89: So was that Mason's death. Ouchies! TaichiSpirit: Did Uriel and Jacob die? ChaosInBlood: Nope. They're still kicking, and I believe they're heading back to the School Building. Zynny: Speaking of the School Building...was I the only one who laughed when Sydney died? blitzkrieg167: he was boring... blitzkrieg167: friiiiiends forever111one!1!!! TaichiSpirit: LOL!!! ChaosInBlood: Hehh. thelastbreath: the girlz are dying too fast. gah. Palooza89: Speaking of the girls, anyone got any favorites? Zynny: Heather, because she took that pervert down. :-) ChaosInBlood: Someone told me last night that Heather isn't really a girl... TaichiSpirit: Isn't she??? :-o Palooza89: Oh yah. Those character secret book things are going to go in-depth with a lot of the SOTF teens. Like, there's a lot of secrets we don't know. Zynny: I'm planning on writing a Amanda/Adam/Hawley fanfic. XD blitzkrieg167: switch hawleyz name with madelainez and ill read it ChaosInBlood: hahahahhahaha blitzkrieg167: :-) Palooza89: I'm still working on my Jimmy/Chi fanfic. It's gonna be tight. thelastbreath: like your syd/xian fic... plz spare us TaichiSpirit: Nothing tops my Xian/Cole fanfic! Palooza89: Ew...that story freaked me out to no end, because you had him bleeding during all of that!! TaichiSpirit: So? He was dying that way, so he should bleed all over in the fic. Zynny: Cillian's scary... blitzkrieg167: yah i hear ya!! I heard that in the nxt part o the sho, he duz sumtin really craaaazy TaichiSpirit: Umi's crew might find a way of the island. TheNotSoGreat: Back. ChaosInBlood: Welcome back. TheNotSoGreat: Thx. TheNotSoGreat: I don' Zynny: Meh...Umi's crew. TheNotSoGreat: I don't think anyone will find a way off the island.* TaichiSpirit: Zynny, what's wrong with Umi's crew? Zynny: It's the name. "Umi's crew"??? What is up with that? blitzkrieg167: n who said she was the leader anyway lol Palooza89: I found a terrible fanfic lastnight... Palooza89: Not terrible, terrible, but terrible as in "I might throw up". blitzkrieg167: wut was it thelastbreath: probbly stumbled over 1 of his own ficks blitzkrieg167: lolz Zynny: Palooza, did it happen to be a Aiden/Daisuke fic by "CIB"? Palooza89: Yeah! it was nasty...too detailed for me, mmkay TheNotSoGreat: I think I found that fic, too. I thought it was wonderfully written, and flowed very well. TheNotSoGreat: Besides, it was believable, too. ChaosInBlood: ... TheNotSoGreat: If anyone hasn't read it yet, then you should. Author extends the time at the well before Umi arrives, and then Daisuke and Aiden...well, yeah. *nosebleed* Palooza89: Yeah, yeah. I guess it was good... Palooza89: ...If you're into that kind of stuff. Zynny: Someone better make a David/Madelaine/Amanda fanfic, then. XD blitzkrieg167: i know i'd read it :-) TaichiSpirit: Haha. TaichiSpirit: I might write one and dedicate it to you, Blitz. blitzkrieg167: why thank you blitzkrieg167: its good to be appreciated :-) ChaosInBlood: Well...it's because you seem to have tie-ins with the Administrators of the GREATEST "Survival of the Fittest" fansite. :-/ blitzkrieg167: haha still good to be appreciated, man thelastbreath: g2g blitzkrieg167: Bye TaichiSpirit: Byeeee!1! thelastbreath has left the Chatroom. blitzkrieg167: I have to go too, unfortunately :-( Zynny: Aw... blitzkrieg167: keep getting nagged to get off the cpu blitzkrieg167: nag, nag, nag, whine...that's all everyone does to me TheNotSoGreat: Hehhhh blitzkrieg167: Bye everyone Zynny: Bye Blitz! Stay awesome!! blitzkrieg167: Will do. :-) blitzkrieg167 has left the Chatroom.

"Never thought that this kiddy stuff would actually be fun." Mr. Danya thought allowed with a small laugh and a puff of his big, fat cigar. His trademark cigar that he had even employed people to make specially for him. Of course, it was illegal to force people to make such a vile thing, but Mr. Danya didn't care. He had already done his fair share of illegal activites basically unscached. Including SOTF. "I don't know why it is. Basically the fans, I guess." He smirked, looking over at his "attendant".

Skinny, tall, and long armed, and often ridiculed by Mr. Danya. He put up with it. He had to. Who knew what Mr. Danya would do if Dorian spoke against him? Throw a collar on him and shove him in the game? Dorian shuddered against the thought. Besides, other than his fear of Mr. Danya keeping him from speaking against him and putting up with the insults, Dorian got paid very well. He had a sick mother...he had to do this stuff, all the while secretly sending her money under the alias of "Jett". Dorian sighed a little. He wasn't the only one putting up with Mr. Danya. Just here alone in this secret location there were ten people officially working for Mr. Danya (Dorian himself included), and forty soldiers patrolling the area and making sure that the US hadn't found them just yet.

"How're the fan websites coming along, Dorian?"

"Good, Sir. McLocke is still working furiously on the Hawley one, Rice is working on the "deceased" fan website for all the dead and lesser known players..." Dorian paused, trying to remember the name of one of his coworkers. "Er, um...Kaige made an Andrew Klock fansite yesterday. Not the greatest, but it's a start." Dorian laughed nervously.

"Good, good." Mr. Danya pulled the cigar out of his mouth with a small sigh. "What about the main website itself? You know, the one that all the fans are practically glued to...?"

Dorian smiled. It had been his job to work on the main website, with help here and there from Garnet. But, he didn't credit Garnet for anything, really. All Garnet was there for was to proofread, and fix any errors in the coding. "It's going great, Sir! I recently fixed a few bugs in the coding of the chatroom" - actually, Garnet had, but Dorian decided to take the credit to look better in Mr. Danya's eyes - "and now I'm trying to encode a forum to the website, so people can post up what they want to say and everything. The chatroom can only hold so many people at this current time...only around seven at the most, otherwise it crashes. So, I've decided to --"

"Fine." Mr. Danya said, the annoyance apparent. He hated it when people started to babble. He placed the cigar back in his mouth taking long puffs of it as if to hint that he was trying to remember something. "Funny how the government hardly has made much of a hubbub about all of this." He took a long puff from his cigar, blowing it all out in a poofy, ring of smoke. Mr. Danya chuckled, more to himself than Dorian. "I'm guessing they don't really want people knowing what danger everyone is in. McLocke told me that they're trying to play the whole thing off as a terrible reality show, forcing families to keep quiet about their child being in it. In fact --" He broke out into a coughing fit, causing Dorian to rush over to his boss in an effort to pat his back. Anything to ensure he wouldn't die.

"I'm fine!!" Mr. Danya yelled. During his coughing fit, he had dropped his cigar. With a frown, he kicked the cigar. "Go fetch me another cigar, Dorian."

"Y-Yes, Danya Sir." Dorian hurriedly answered to his boss's wishes, even lighting the cigar for him. Mr. Danya puffed out another ring of smoke, acting as if his little coughing fit had never happened.

"As I was saying...I believe the American Goverment is even trying to silence people." Mr. Danya fingered his cigar, pausing to idle with his thoughts. "Not kill them, mind you, but keep them quiet elsewise they may face something pretty major." Mr. Danya glared. That was the last thing that he wanted to happen. The Government keeping people quiet. He wanted everyone to scream in terror, he wanted them to see their siblings die right on the TV Screen, he wanted for parents to weep over the death of their son, or daughter. There was so much for them to see. So much for them to get terrified over.

Blip, blip. It came from one of the computer terminals. A worker wearing a rather large (not to mention goofy) headset looked over at Mr. Danya worriedly. He had been practically eavesdropping on the conversation between Dorian and Danya, but he didn't care...he made it look like he was working, anyway.

"Yeah, what is it?" Mr. Danya pointed his cigar at Achlys, an annoyed frown slowly forming on his face. "Are the kids learning to deactivate their collars already?"

"No, no!" Achlys hurriedly said, his next words coming out in a loud, blurry slur. "The island, it...it, you know..."

Mr. Danya rushed over to the screen, shoving Achlys out of the way. "What, what is it? I can't see anything!!"

"It's raining, Sir...we've lost the transmission to the cameras. We still have collar access, and all the radio frequencies are basically there...mics are still in good condition, too."

"Darn it. Would've been better if those two kids had burned down the island. But, this!" Mr. Danya held up his hands in frustration. "Recover it, Achlys, recover the whole darned thing."

"I...I can't. The only cameras working right now are the ones in the ravine, caves, warehouse, bathroom facility, and the shore." Why there were cameras in the bathroom facility was basically beyond Achlys. He blinked a little, as if to blink back tears.

"Get it back soon. Don't let any of the kids on. Elsewise, I'm going to throw you onto the island." Mr. Danya's threat was pretty idle. He didn't really plan on throwing Achlys into the island, since he'd probably leak out too many secrets to the students about the whole terrorist faction and everything like that. But, the way that Mr. Danya said that and glared was extremely convincing. Even Dorian himself was a little afraid for Achlys. "The radar map is still up, correct?"

Achlys nodded, tears of fear now falling down his face. Mr. Danya smirked. Achlys was always a coward. A crafty, creative coward, though, whom always got the job done...that was why he was one of Mr. Danya's top workers. "Good, good. I'm going to make the announcement...the loud speaker system and all that jazz is still working, right?"

Again, Achlys nodded, as if Mr. Danya had taken his voice from him. "Alright. Dorian, come with me and review the footage. Got to get all the deaths right, y'know?" Mr. Danya smiled, and then walked into the other room made specifically for his grand Announcements. Dorian followed him like a baby duck, trembling ever so slightly at the fact that Mr. Danya was truly all powerful. There truly was no way off the island for the kids, was there?

Oh how I love my job...

--

"Oh hello kids! Better find some shelter, it's really starting to drizzle." Mr. Danya said grandly. It was always fun announcing random crud to the students and instilling fear into their hearts. The looks on their faces as he read off the deaths of their friends were priceless. He sighed, realizing he couldn't see such a sight now that just about all the cameras were broken. Sure, there were the other locations, but it didn't seem as if anyone was really there doing anything. Must be hiding... "The rain should douse the flames, though, and wash away the blood. This might be the rare time that you'll be able to take a shower, kiddies, so I'd use this moment to my advantage."

Mr. Danya paused, reading over the long list of deaths. Some had been tragic, some had been a surprise, while others were just downright creepy. "Alright, I'm sure you all are looking forward to hearing the deaths of your friends, so I'll just get right to it. Selene stayed in a Danger Zone for too long...collar exploded, and that's that. ...Cole Hudson got cut up like a turkey by that Andrew guy, getting Xian's weapon jammed into a major artery during their rather bloody fight." Mr. Danya paused to puff out several rings of smoke before continuing on. "Simply put, Xian pulled the corkscrew out of Cole's arm, severing an artery in the process and basically spelled out the end for him. Rather messy death, too. Sprayed blood everywhere. You hear that, Xian? It was your fault." Mr. Danya laughed. Of course, he was just messing with her head.

"Next to die was Venka Rapler. Got in the way of a gunfight...her death was practically inevitable. Alan soon died next...idiot took on a guy with a gun when he only had brass knuckles." Mr. Danya shrugged, and paused for dramatic effect like he always liked to do. "Andrew Klock got shot down by that David guy...you know to protect Amanda, or something. Really, she's only the vice president's daughter. Stupid American patriots..." Mr. Danya pulled his cigar out of his mouth, looking down the list again, and trying to figure out something neat to say. "Kichiro Taka died looking for his sister at the Bamboo Coppice. Fire overwhelmed him, to say the least. Such a shame that he had already found Umi Martin - his sister - afterall. Pretty tragic story, if you ask me." Mr. Danya sighed, acting as if he felt sad for Kichiro, when in truth he didn't at all. The marketting was good, and besides, the fans love sad tradegies like the whole thing involving Kichiro and Umi.

"Edward Rommel died from his wounds, with Garrett by his side all the while. Take good care of that jacket, alright, Garrett? It's pretty nice, if I do say so myself." Marketting for that jacket would be great...Mr. Danya glanced over at Dorian with a small yawn. "The next death was pretty darn shocking, if I do say so myself. Cillian certainly had...erm, fun with Jon Tognetti. Really hacked that guy apart. Lots and lots of gore." Danya chuckled into the microphone. "Mason Lucien died a horrid death. It was...painful to watch, to say the least. Heather kinda did a little overkill, but whatever, Mason deserved it for humiliating me during our game of Internet Craps. I think he used some hacking programs...I'm sure of it.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot..." Mr. Danya grinned. "You guys are getting famous. Fan sites, fan fiction, fan art. Chatrooms discussing the SOTF ACT, too, and forums. I'm glad you guys are being so noteworthy...becoming so famous. Your parents are probably proud. Do you guys want to know some of the fanfics being written? Xian/Cole fanfics, Xian/Syd fanfics, Aiden/Daisuke fics...wow, there's even a couple of Uriel/Jacob fanfics." Mr. Danya smirked. He wanted to make them feel outraged and angry. "Got a Kichiro/Umi fanfic. Ew...never was into that whole brother/sister romance stuff. Very nasty, even in my country... Some guy I know is working on this Jimmy/Chi fanfic. Care to hear more?" Mr. Danya didn't care if they didn't want to, he just kept going on about the fanfics.

"There's also a Amanda/Adam/Hawley fanfic, too. Doesn't that make you all proud of yourselves? Fanart, fanfiction, everything. You guys are all becoming famous!" His twisted smile broadened. "There might even be a Trading Card Game, too...I'm contemplating it. Look good for the cameras, kiddies. But, it's Danger Zone time. The Woods and The Dirtpath. All other dangerzones are wiped...those two are the only dangerzones for now.

"So, everyone, remember to stay out of the rain! Find shelter, and be wary of mud and everything!!"

Fourth Announcement
Danya knocked on the door to his home, a huge smile plastered on his normally smug face. He hadn't seen his family for days now...spending all his time dealing with SOTF. He could just imagine the happy smile on his wife's face, his daughter's laughter filling up the room. Danya wouldn't be able to see his son today...he was out in the battlefield, risking his life and becoming a true blue hero for the homecountry.

His wife answered the door, a small, worn smile on her face. "You're home, you're home!"

Danya laughed. Unlike his twisted laughs about the children of SOTF, this one was filled with love, kindness, and pride for his country, and his family. He embraced her tightly, spinning his wife around gently as he entered his home.

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!!" The happy, child voice belonged to no other than Danya's daughter, Amora. She was a generic little girl, bubbliness, bounciness, loud laughter...she was a happy six year old, pig tails and all. Danya got down on one knee, and tapped his little girl on the nose, causing her to burst into a fit of giggles.

"Hey, Amora. Keeping up with SOTF?"

"Yeah, yeah! It's really, really cool. 'Specially 'cause you're the one who made it and all." Amora giggled, and pointed to her Survival of the Fittest t-shirt, slogan and all. Merchandising for SOTF was doing great. "My shirt is so cool, Daddy!"

"But, do you know why it's cool, Amora?"

"Why?"

"Because you're wearing it." Danya hugged his daughter tightly. "Love you so much." He let go of her, standing up and flashing a smile. "I'll go and make dinner tonight. Bet you guys were tired of takeout, huh?" Danya stuck his tongue out playfully at his wife before dashing off to the kitchen.

--

Meanwhile, at Danya's place of buisness, a few of his underlings were sitting around in the room specially designed for Danya's announcements. This was their only time for a break, really. A blessing it was that Danya took time off to visit his family periodically.

McLocke was one of the four workers in the room. "Oh, look at this one!" He gestured over to the laptop screen, a small smirk appearing. "Two new fanfics, fresh off the press."

Kaige's eyes narrowed. "Boring with a capitial B. C'mon, there's got to be something better. This fanfic crud is really boring. Don't you think so, Garnet?" She placed her empty sodacan in the trash, leaning against the far wall with a small sigh.

Garnet, a worker with a faint scar above his 'brow, was helping himself to a large bag of popcorn. "I'm more interested in the actual show itself, not all this fake, stupid stuff." He glared at McLocke. "Speaking of the show, has Achlys got the transmissions to the cameras back up?"

Rice shook his head, scratching under his chin idly with his freehand. He was trying to grow a goatee there, but the hair just never grew on his chin. "I don't think so. Poor kid, though...hardly eats now adays, just because of Danya and the SOTF ACT." He sighed. "Sometimes, I think that the violence of it all gets to Achlys."

Kaige shook her head. "No way. He has trained in soldier tactics and all that other stuff just like the rest of us."

Rice shrugged, lost for words.

Garnet crumpled up his empty bag of pop and threw it into the wastebasket. He traced the scar above his 'brow idly.

"Hey everyone, look at this!" McLocke pointed over at the laptop screen with a small, cheeky little grin.

"What, in the world?!" Rice stepped closer to the screen, blinking in disbelief. "That's...just so odd." He took a long sip from his sodacan, shaking his head. "Fans these days."

Kaige smirked. "Didn't you ever write a mushy fanfic before?"

"..."

Garnet sighed. "McLocke, you know Danya would probably kill us --"

"No, no, it's cool, though. Look at it!"

Rice placed down his sodacan, inconveniently ontop of a certain button...

--

"Dinner's ready!"

"Yay!!"

"Thanks for cooking, dear."

"It's the least I can do for being away for so long." Danya smiled, placing down the large plate of food on the tray set infront of his two favorite women in the world.

Lilly returned the smile. "You're a hero of the country. It's fine that you've been away...in fact, it's great that you --"

"Mommy, Daddy! Let's go watch SOTF!" Amora practically yelled, interrupting her mother.

Danya grinned, sitting down on the couch in between his wife and daughter. With aid of the handy dandy device known as the remote, he turned on the TV. He changed the channel to the channel specifically for SOTF. Unlike in America that had most, if not all of the major stations with SOTF, SOTF got its own station completely in Danya's country. What happened next on SOTF, though, shocked even the twisted man known as Danya.

--

"'Jacob and Uriel stared lovingly into eachother's eyes. Sure, they had just met, but something between the two just seemed to click. As if they were two half circles, finally put together. To find love during a time while everyone around was dying was odd, yes, but love happens in strange places.

'Erm,' Jacob said, snapping both of them out of their love-induced stupor. 'My name is Jacob.'

'And mine is Uriel.' The boy blushed, looking away from Jacob. No way, he thought, I can't like him. This goes against so many things that I know.'" McLocke paused, smirking as he looked over at his comrades. "Edgy fanfic, right?"

Kaige coughed. "More like cliche."

Rice shook his head, as if trying to rid the image from his mind. "Too gross. Way too nasty for my tastes. And, the characters are written completely wrong. Jacob would never say that, and Uriel would never think --"

Garnet glared. "Enough of this. The boss finds out you're using his laptop --"

McLocke waved a hand at Garnet. "And what? He won't do a thing. Throw me on the island? Yeah, right." He chuckled to himself. "I hope you've noticed by now, but Danya's nothing. Just a guy who smokes cigars, sitting cozy in his grand chair while people out there are dying against the Americans." He smiled, pretending to be an exagerrated Danya puffing out a ring of smoke.

"McLocke..."

"Let's have some fun for once. Our pathetic little boss doesn't leave this place everyday, you know, so let's go read up on some of these fics, and have fun." McLocke grinned. ...If only he knew that Danya (and all the students on the island) had heard what he had been saying. "Now, name a pairing."

"I'm out of here." Garnet promptly left the room, scowling at McLocke. He never was one for this sort of fluffy, fake stuff. None of this fanfiction, fanart. It was all...fake. It was better to keep in touch with reality. Without that touch, you're nothing...you've lost yourself completely.

McLocke scrolled down the listing of fanfics. "C'mon, Rice, I know you've got some sort of pairing that you like. I saw the way you were eyeing that ballerina girl. Pair her with whomever." He smirked, then looking over at Kaige. "You've got to have some sort of twisted boy on boy pairing that you like."

"What?" Kaige glared daggers at McLocke. "I'm serious about this job, McLocke! There's no time for goofing off like this. I hope you know who catches wind of this. A little time on his island would do you good, McLocke."

"Pffft. Rice, got a pairing in mind, yet? ...Rice? Hello, Earth to the Rice man! Space Cadet, come back down to Earth!!"

Rice's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, his mouth opened a gape. He pointed over to his half-full sodacan, sitting on the button used to operate the master mic system. The same system that was used to make the Announcements for the island. And the same system that allowed everyone to hear what was said. Students on the island, people at home watching, the Americans back home themselves...everyone.

--

Rice wasn't the only one whose mouth was hanging open. Danya face turned red with rage. "What did he just say?!" He stood up from the couch, knocking down his dinnertray in the process. "How dare they?!"

"Dear..."

"Enough, Lilly! I'm sorry, but I've got to go now." He strode over to the door. "I wanted so much to spend the night, but now..." He punched the doorframe, and then stormed out of his grand house, filled with an unearthly rage.

--

"Rice, you idiot! Idiot!!" McLocke stood up, and took Rice by the collar. "Your drink, it was yours!"

Tears streamed down Rice's face. He could just imagine Danya now...Danya with a gun in his hand, Danya with a glare on his face. Danya ready to kill him, McLocke, Kaige, and Garnet. He'd kill them all because of a stupid mistake. "...S-sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" McLocke shook Rice up. "We've got families back home! They're going to find us because of you, Rice!! They're going to kill me, you, Ka--"

Kaige screamed. "Don't say my name! Don't say it!!"

"We're all going to die because of you, Rice. And what do you have to say?" McLocke let go of Rice's collar, smacking himself in the forehead.

"...So...rry." The reply was quiet and drawn out. "I...d-didn't mean to." He lifted the sodacan from the button, so that their sobs couldn't be heard all over the island.

Rice wasn't the only one crying. They all were. Like a terrible chorus, they all said in unison. "We're going to die, we're going to die..."

--

Danya entered the building, a grim smile on his face. His soldiers saluted him as he entered, Danya returning the salutes with a single firm nod. He passed by both Dorian and Achlys on his way to the room for Announcements. The two had been chatting together during their little "break", talking about the going-ons in SOTF, and a few other more personal things.

"Wait, Danya, sir!"

Danya spun around, glaring at his trembling underling. Achlys swallowed a big gulp of air, mustered up some courage, and then continued on, "I...Sir, I was able to get all the camera transmissions back." He smiled. "Right after all the rain stopped, too. We're getting all the 'lost' footage out now, and everything. Sure, there had to be a bit of backtracking done, but..."

Danya waved a hand, dismissing Achlys. "Fine, fine, fine!" He continued his way up the stairs to the room for Announcements. Danya looked forward to the type of punishment that would be delivered onto the people inside. And inside were Rice, Kaige, and McLocke, all three screaming and crying over the fact they would die. Garnet was nowhere to found. He most likely had taken off earlier, deciding to leave when he figured out the fact that the four's words had been broadcasted across the island.

The three inside were going to die, but not at the hands of their good ol' boss, Danya. Oh, no...they would meet their doom at the hands of someone different entirely...

--

"Hello there kids!" It was the cheerful voice of Danya. "I've got a present for you all, but, you're going to have to wait through the announcement first. The present - oh, well, there's actually three presents. But, I'll get into detail about them later on." Danya smirked, raising a sodacan to his lips with a small sigh.

"You know, I was at my home with my lovely wife and daughter. And guess what I see while I'm watching you guys on TV? Well, not really what I see, but more or less...what I hear." He paused, looking over to his laptop screen. Sure enough, the trio hadn't exited out of the story that had really spelled out their doom. "Some fanfic being read aloud. Really, it's not the best that I've seen, but considering the pairing..." He chuckled to himself, turning off his computer in disgust. "Let's get on with the Announcement, shall we?

"The 18th person to die was Andrew Lipson. You know, the wheelchair kid." He snickered. "Don't take that personally, folks. Unless, you're American...anywho, he was struck by lightning, fusing his cellphone to his hand - see, I told you kids not to make any calls on your cell phone - and then his wheelchair broke, causing him to fall off of the cliff. A series of unfortunate events, indeed." Danya stopped to take a breath. "19th was River Garraty. Ran himself into a dangerzone like a crazy little guy. Quite funny, actually..." He trailed off, trying to remember whom else had died between this Announcement and the last one. "Oh yeah...20th to die was Uriel Hunter, in the school building. Heather fed the poor guy a flashbang, making his jaw fall right off, and then was accidentally shot in the head by Jacob Starr. I don't really know who to give the death to." He glanced over to the door, as if expecting someone to come in. No one was going to. Who was crazy enough to bother Danya while he was doing the Announcements, especially after knowing what he did to Kaige, McLocke, and Rice?

"21st was James Coombs, killed in the Makeshift Hospital by everyone's favorite psycho ballerina Clemence. 22nd was Rais Sekth, whom was stabbed to death by Jacob Starr near the River. 24th was --" Danya stopped abruptly to sneeze. "-- Jimmy Moreland. A very gorey death delivered onto him by the wonderful Blaine Eno. 25th was Arturo Villamor, whom also had a gorey death in the Caves, thanks to Cillian. 26th was Devi Satome, also killed by Cillian in the Caves. And then, 27th was Elise Aversano, shot in the gut by Stevan Hyde, if you want her death in layman's terms."

Danya yawned. "27 people dead already. Nice, very nice. Although, you all should really get a little more stylish in the killings. Either that, or take a page out of Cillian's book and make the deaths all the more gore-filled." He tossed his sodacan over to the wastebasket, frowning when it missed. "Current Danger Zones wiped. Dark Caves and The Well are the current Danger Zones.

"Now, as I was saying earlier about the presents.... You've heard about Rice, McLocke, and Kaige, haven't you? The three idiots who decided to read a distasteful little fanfic outloud? Well, the fabulous trio are going to be on the island soon. You might want to write this information down just incase you run into them.

"The three of them are all dangerous. They've got military training...they're stronger than you. Way better than any student you've met on the island. Really, none of you stand a chance one on one. It'll take atleast seven of you to successfully take one on. Be weary of them...they're the ones wearing dark, dark clothing and in full military gear. Face masks, kevlar, gloves, knife holsters, powerful weaponry...they've got it all. Except," Danya smirked. "Vocal chords. But, why are they here? They're traitors to my homecountry, simply put. Such a shame, too...can you believe that they were actually feeding information back to the U.S.? Terrible, terrible." A lie, of course. Kaige, McLocke, and Rice weren't traitors to their country. "Think of this as a new edge to the game, kiddies...three super baddies. Try your best to kill them all! For once, I'm actually rooting for you all... Ta ta for now!"

Fifth Announcement
"Hello there kiddies!"

Mr. Danya's cheery voice filled the island up like a round balloon. "How are you all on this fine morning? Good, bad, so-so, I don't care. All I know is that you kids are killing machines, through and through.

"You just might be able to give those big bad terrorists a run for their money, afterall." There was a light pause, and a shuffling of paper. "Ah...I see now. Nearly lost the list. Teehee, it's a long one, so listen up good.

The 28th person to die on the island was Naoji Hideyoshi, killed by Clemence de Rousseau. The 29th person to die was James Kelecks; a double kill for Clemence. Atta girl!" Danya smirked, then continued his vicious announcement.

"30th to die was Aaron Redfield, killed by Katherine Marks. Katherine Marks was then killed by Chi Masumi soon after, making her the 31st to die. 32nd to die was Blaine Eno shot with a shotgun blast by Adam Dodd." Danya sighed, seemingly bored with the large death-list.

"33rd, Sophie Maraschino, by Ash Holmes. 34th, Ash Holmes, by Cillian Crowe. 35th, Umi Martin, by Peri Barclay. 36th, Cassandra Roivas, by Kiyoko Asakawa. 37th, Kiyoko Asakawa, by Cassandra Roivas. 38th, Garrett Langston, by Jacob Starr. 39th, Marie Zaid, killed by Daphne Rudko. 40th, Max McNeal, shot by Shinya Motomura. 41st, Nanami Nishida, killed by her own best friend, Madelaine Shirohara. 42nd, Jayne Brown, by Jason Andrews. 43rd, Hawley Faust, killed by bloodloss from his wounds. Thought that one would last a long while, but seeing as this is SOTF...I guess not. 44th, Thom Chuck, by Peri Barclay. 45th, Woodrow Wilson, by Shinya Motomura. 46th, Marcus Roddy, by Adam Dodd. 47th, Duncan Wright, by Angharad Davies. 48th, Eddie Serjeantson, by Daphne Rudko. 49th, Miranda Grey, also by Daphne Rudko. 50th, Daphne Rudko, shot by Jason Andrews.

A salute to all the dead; it ain't easy surviving. Death's inevitable for the unfit, although I respect you all for trying hard to win.

All existing Danger Zones have been wiped. The new Danger Zones are the Old Warehouse and the Makeshift Hospital. Run for your lives, lads and lassies! And, remember to keep in there and never give up! That's when they strike you hardest.

Ciao."

There was a clicking sound as Mr. Danya hung up the communication system. He sucked his teeth and rapped his fingers on the desk in front of him. The American Army's threats from their Public Service Announcement played in his head like an annoying tune. There was hardly a way that they'd actually find him, and they hardly had any resources to do anything too major. Not with all their attention focused on the war between themselves and Danya's people, anywho.

Alas, just like with the events going on on SOTF island, time would only tell.

Sixth Announcement
There was slight crackling noise as the intercom system turned on.

"Hey kids. Well rested for the next surprise attack? I sure hope not.

This announcement will be done a little differently than others. You can chalk it up to laziness if you want, but I think that this brings a more fun element into the game. More stealth, harder situations, and more crimson...

Cleo Barston, Cydni Pullman, Andrew Mutaeneau, Callum Hadley, and the infamous Jacob Starr have all died to a variety of killers. Ken Mendel, Ian Hargrave, David Jackson, Madelaine Shirohara, and Amanda Jones have died, aswell. Shame, too, about Madelaine. Wouldn't've minded to seen a little more pink. Heh.

The list continues on, to include Fredrik Hughes, Sven Kekule, Kousaka Takeda, Glenn Hughes, and Vince Samsa. Oh, how tragic! Two brothers dead in the same announcement. I may have to shed a tear for that.

We can't forget Jake Driggers, Aaron Bourdon, Madison Satomi, and Shinya Motomura. The last boy had a rather...tasty suicide, if I do say so myself. Take a page out of his book, kiddies.

Now, how much does that leave us with? About forty of you still alive, and around seventy of you dead? You're disappointing me... Let's get this show on the road. You want to meet your families, don't you? There's only one way off the island, and that is to kill the competition! Don't hide like a whiney little coward. That's your ticket to stay on the island, so kill everyone you can! There are awards at the end, I do promise.

The Old Warehouse and the Makeshift Hospital are no longer danger zones. The new ones are the Lookout Point and the River.

Over and out, ducks."

Seventh Announcement
"On June 26th, 2005, we have recovered the first tape released by the terrorist known as Mr. Danya. He is the man that has been in charge of the Survival of the Fittest Terrorist Threat. We've lost many American children to this man, and we now have a live feed into his public service announcement." The image of the male reporter switched to another one, of a shadowed man clad in dark clothes and a baseball cap that shadowed his whole face. Danya. Feeling that the Americans weren't even fit enough to look at him, he dressed himself up like he was hiding something.

"Hey," The tape wasn't perfect. Lines of static zapped through every now and then, discoloring Danya and his dark outfit. "As you should know, I'm the guy who has been taking all of your children and making them kill eachother!" He clapped his hands together energetically. "Alright! I even gave you a chance to watch them as they died. How swell, how awesome, how poetic, huh? I didn't want you guys to miss any of it because, that would be so unfair.

I'm surprised at you all, though. It's been days since version one has gone on, and it seems like you haven't even lifted a finger to help. Sure, taking to the skies in an effort to find me is nice, but it's so hard and such a waste of your time. You tried to find me via satellite, but not even that worked, because you all forgot that I have them under my control too. Idiots. Mind you that your television stations have all been changed for Survival of the Fittest, airing 24/7 on all channels.

Wow! Awesome! Bananza!" Acting a little over the top, he made a peace sign. "Little did you know that you could've watched version one before and saved yourself all of this trouble. T'was on Ch. 7839, for all of you with the dish. Yeah! Could've watched them struggle there, too. But, great deal, you can watch it on DVD. Coming really soon, along with a whole new line of Survival of the Fittest merchandise! Rocking, booyeah, totally cool.

Now, let's get down to buisness. What do I want from all of you? I want a lot of things. Revenge, money, government, the world, money...no, hardly any of that. What I really want is to cleanse earth and bring it back to what it once was under my own rule. Am I being selfish and cliche? No way. There's far more to it than that. Right now, here's what you can do to ensure that the rest of the students still on the island don't die.

Call off your military. Put them at permanent rest." There was a pause, as if he were wondering what to say next. There were so many things to force the American Empire to do, it was hard to choose. "Your highest power must kill himself on film and release the tape to the whole world. Don't even try switching him with someone else, or killing him! He must do it himself! Then, I want...hm," Another pause, this one much worse than the last. "Well, I actually don't really know what else could be more humiliating. Oh, wait, yes I do!

I want every politician to declothe themselves and began howling at the moon. In 24 hours, when the president shall kill himself, and the military stop all action against any countries out there. Oh yes. Awesomeness, a'ight? If you don't do what I just told you all to do, then I'm declaring an all out war on your stupid country. Prepare yourselves. We're packing the big guns, remember that!

Lot's of love~ Danya!"

The transmission ended, leaving America in a panic. Should they listen to this man? Could they defeat his army in the event of refusal? Everything rested on the decision of the President, President Aaron Bridges, a Southern man whom was leading the country in the direction it needed. Normally, he would be joking around like he usually did, but now, he leaned back in his comfy, spinny chair, his lip twitching every now and then with worry. The questions at hand were ones that he couldn't answer, the ultimate one being "do you want to die?". Stenton had no family of his own. Only his mother, and she had disowned him the moment he had refused becoming a man of the creative arts. Wasn't his fault he didn't want to become a hippy. Blame it on the media.

"Mister President, sir?"

Aaron looked up, his fear clouding his dark eyes as he made his reply. "Y-yes?"

"What are you going to do?" Samuel Carson, political extraordinaire, was fearful aswell, but he had better control over it. "What's going to happen to the country?"

"I don't know anymore. I just. . .don't know." His lips trembled boyishly as he reached for a blue pen, scribbling down some things. All that the country knew about Danya. Wasn't much at all. Samuel watched Aaron with a slightly amused gaze as the President began to break. It was exactly what Danya and his men had wanted to happen. Once their weak President was broken, they'd have the key to the country. Or, so they thought. There were far more obstacles ahead for them; the President being the least of the problem.

Carson coughed for Aaron's attention. Once he had it, he began to speak like a man with a plan. "I have a few ideas, sir. We don't—no, we won't have to negotiate with them. Sir, no, we're going to strike back with everything we have. This announcement of his was a sign of weakness. It's time, more than ever, to get him when he's down!"

"Do tell."

"It'll all take a while, but if we work quickly, we can get it done and save everyone. Yes... Here's the plan, Mr. Bridges..."

--

"Yo, kids!" The cheery Danya from the PSA was still there, acting like a child at a candy store. And, hey, everything was free, no cavities were involved, and Mother dearest didn't care. "I just finished sending a little message to your homes. It was the coolest thing I've done in such a long time. Darn, I'm *still* feeling the excitement. Haha." He shuffled around a stack of papers and video tapes idly, trying to get rid of his jitters. It didn't work.

"Alright, alright. We've got a bunch of deaths. The first two were killed by Rice and McLocke. Oh, no! Chi Masumi was killed by Green Rice and Ai Kurosawa was killed by Black McLocke. What are you up to, Miss Blue Kaige? Then, we got some students killed by other students. Johnny Lamika, Daisuke Andou, Kouji Ginsenshi, madman Cillian Crowe, Neville Eden, Mallory DeLuca," Danya stumbled over the next name. "Gillaume "Gilbert" Archambault, mafia wannabe Antonio Franchini, and Jason Andrews! Alright! Nice job everyone!

But, unfortunately, we've really got to speed things up. Starting in twenty minutes, the Dark Caves and the Gazebo are joining the Lookout Point and the River as Danger Zones. That's four Zones this time, without any removal of Zones like the way the Japanese do it.

I wish a lot of luck to you all, and I hope to see a winner before long! 36 Students Remain, who will emerge victorious?

See ya, Danya!"

Eighth Announcement
"Hellooooo children!" The intercomm cracked to life, signalling that it was time for another one of Danya's cheery announcements. "I'm in a great mood. Remember yesterday when I told you all about the message I sent to your precious America? Well, I'm about to watch their reply to what I sent them! Cool. I gave them, like, three choices. Let's hope they chose to go through on the choices, 'cause if they didn't, then..." He laughed too close to the microphone, making his cheer sound more like percussion. "You're all dead. Every last one of you. Say goodbye to the winner, even.

"So, onwards, hoes, to announcement number eight. We've had quite a few deaths this time, which I'm proud of. Keep at it and we might have our winner by day eleven! You guys are far from the record, unfortunately, but that's okay since you guys have the largest game."

His assistant, Dorian's voice could be heard in the background, warning Danya to hurry up or he'd miss the States' decisions.

"Alrighty. Vince Noir was killed in the Bathroom Facility by Xian Chun. Wednesday Garci was killed by nasty Elijah Rice at the Ravine. Ryan Ashmore followed soon after, killed by Lyndi Thibodeaux somewhere in the dark Woods. Then, it was Jamie Amy Robins—wow, she had an awesome name—killed by Adam Dodd at the School Building. Next death happened in the Woods; Arsenio Thanodeus's death by Cody Jenson. That's five deaths right there, but there's more!

"Kaleigh Jones, on the Eastern Shore, was shot by Adam Dodd. Then, Chance Burton was killed by Sidney Crosby in the Makeshift Hospital. Oh! Yippy! Shannon McLocke, one of the terrorists, died over at the Hillside Cliff. Too bad he went and killed himself. What a sore loser! Don't worry, guys and girls. There are still two terrorists out there for you to kill. Cassie Webber was shot to death by Drew Lynn in the Open Field. Or, rather, the Helicopter Crash Site. Not much of an Open Field now, is it?

"Nine kills so far! Could this be a record? Xian Chun was blown up in the Bathroom Facility by Angelina Kaige. Angharad Davies died in the same explosion, also killed by Angelina Kaige in a two for one grenade kind of deal. Nice going! Kaige, on a kill high, it seems, went off to kill Aiden Ambrose at the Eastern Shore. Following that, she killed Lyndi Thibodeaux at the Hillside Cliff. And, concluding the list of deaths for yesterday, Heather Pendergast, at the Small House. Poor baby bled to death, boo hoo.

"Wow! 14 deaths in one day! That leaves about 99 dead and 24 of you alive! Yep, our little Survival of the Fittest is ending real soon, it looks like. Maybe sooner if the country doesn't meet my demands. See you later, kiddies!"

Ninth Announcement
For the tenth day in a row, the loudspeakers planted across SOTF island squealed to life, signifying another day of living hell for those who had managed to live through the nearly two weeks the Survival of the Fittest program had undergone, as well as another announcement from the notorious orchestrator of the program himself: Mr. Danya.

"Good morning, everybody! Or at least, those of you who are still alive. I'd like to start off announcement number nine by telling you all that I absolutely, positively, couldn't be any prouder of you! What you've done over the last day has far exceeded my expectations! First off, I believe a congratulations is in order for Ms. Angelina Kaige who has claimed the spot as our island's top killer for the second day in a row! She's been a busy little beaver and I must say, has gone about slaughtering the competition quite cleverly. First of all, she eliminated both Jill Gatling and Martyn Ferdinand in a two-for-one with a grenade explosion at the warehouse. She was even indirectly responsible for the death of Hannah Juett, who fell off the warehouse roof as a result of the explosion! She then proceeded to eliminate Clare Shephard, who was standing around like a fool after the explosion. That wasn't all the drama for the warehouse though, oh no! Congratulations Jeremy Torres on kill numero uno, Eh-Sun Choi! The few remaining pacifists here should take a page out of Jeremy's book and realize that it's not too late to start killing until the final student is dead!"

"At the bathroom facility, Kaige racked up another one in the form of Dorian Greywood. Such a tragic ending for a tragic young man... first used and dumped on national television, then he gets riddled with bullets!" At the retort, Danya let out a fake sob, followed by a sniffle, "Truly, utterly, pitifully tragic indeed. Meanwhile, at the lighthouse, Adam Dodd was busy eliminating Dorian's lover, Peri Barclay from the rest of the competition. You know, Mr. Dodd, for someone who seems to spend every single second of his pathetic existence cursing me and this game, you're doing a top-notch job of taking out the competition. You're a true inspiration to the fellow players of this game, may they all step up and brutally slaughter the remaining competition along with you! The next death was simply pitiful. While both Elijah Rice and the beautiful Miss Clemence teamed up in an attempt to slaughter the crew hiding out at the hospital, it was an abysmal failure. In fact, it was so bad that Takara Asano deemed it necessary to take her OWN life."

"Eight down, but it doesn't end there! After putting us through a fight that looked more like it belonged in a samurai movie, Cody Jenson eliminated the resident ditz, Elsie Darroch. Yet again Angelina Kaige stepped up to the plate with another two-fer in the forms of Scott Jameson and Michael Suarez. Shortly after, everyone's favorite psycho ballerina Clemence broke away from her failure of a partner, and Ryan Torres felt her wrath. Meanwhile, in a true statement to the question of whether or not you could kill your best friend, Drew Lynn seemed to have no qualms about eliminating Toby Valerik from the game. Our own little hockey phenom, Mr. Sidney Crosby, scored the next kill on our list, spraying Nevera Aero's brain matter across the warehouse right in front of Jeremy Torres. Let that be a lesson to those of you who still believe you can protect others from the game. It's going to run its course, rather you like it or not, and eventually every one of you will feel it full-force."

"Finally, death #15 and the final death on our little list is that of terrorist Elijah Rice, who was young Mr. Dodd's second kill for the day. You hear that, Kaige? You got sloppy on that last one. Though I must say, it was a fun show. Very fun, indeed. So, Adam Dodd, after the feat you've accomplished, I suppose you're ready for that one-way ticket back to the good ole' U.S. of A, am I right? I'm sure you all remember the deal, whoever eliminates a terrorist from the game is guaranteed a nifty little get-out-of-jail-free card, so, congratulations Adam Dodd! Head on over to the helicopter crash site to receive your prize, which is... I'm sure you've guessed it... nothing at all."

A loud percussion-like sound echoed out from the loudspeakers as Danya snickered into the microphone.

"But hey, look on the bright side. Something good came out of the ordeal. You got laid. Maybe now you can stop fantasizing about me, you fool." A brief silence occurred after the comment, but Danya almost immediately began talking again, "Ah, teen angst. I love it so. Well now, moving right along... if you've all been keeping track of the remaining students like good little puppets, I'm sure you've come to notice something. That's right, children, those of you still alive have made it into the final ten. So, let's spice things up a bit. This part is a little thing I'd like to call endgame. Today, six more areas will become danger zones. Those areas are the Bathroom Facility, the Makeshift Hospital, the Lighthouse, the Small House, the School Building and, you guessed it, the Warehouse. In twenty minutes there will be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Make me proud, little warriors, finish this round with gusto!"



After taking a moment to turn off the broadcasting equipment he made the morning announcements on, Danya smiled to himself and kicked back in the large cushioned leather chair he had been relaxing in. Today was going to be a good day. The way things had been going the past two days, negotiations with the U.S. were completely unneccessary. The children were doing a fantastic job of killing one another on their own accord.

"S-sir?"

The nasal and high-pitched sound of Dorian's voice threw Danya out of his reverie, causing the man to lean forward in his chair and raise an eyebrow.

"We've received messages from the United States, sir. They're... they're willing to negotiate for the safe return of the children."

A smile crept across the lips of Mr. Danya as he watched Dorian in a mildly amused manner. It was all falling into place, all going perfectly. The U.S., who had always had a strict policy of "not negotiating with terrorists" was suddenly changing it's tune.

"Oh? Well then, negotiate away."

Nodding solemnly, Dorian slid a recording of the message addressed to Danya by the United States into the antique-looking VCR that sat atop a retro-looking television in the announcement room. Mr. Danya couldn't help but look on with sheer glee as the President of the United States himself appeared on the television screen, his almost defeated-sounding voice ringing out through the television's speakers.

"Attention Mr. Danya, the United States of America had agreed to call off all military forces if you will return the children safe--"

Tenth Announcement
Dorian's computer beeped so loudly that he actually dropped the thermos of coffee that he was holding, and if the thing'd been open in the first place, he probably would have spilled it all over the ground. He'd been forced to admit to himself that he'd become real jumpy after the three other terrorists had been punished and tossed on the island. After that, all of the remaining terrorists in the control centre had basically forced themselves to stick strictly to their work, and socializing was at an all-time low. Granted, they had just kidnapped one-hundred and twenty teenagers from around the world, and when it all boiled down to it, if they were caught, they'd probably all recieve the death penalty, but Dorian couldn't help but wish that they were all still socializing. It made one feel better to know that they weren't in it alone, and that they actually had other people who were in as deep as he was. So due to the constant feeling of paranoia, not to mention the feeling of lonliness, Dorian was definitely getting quite jittery. Quickly picking up the thermos from the ground, he glanced at his computer screen to see what exactly that it was which had triggered one of the many alarms that the system had. As of late, he'd become what one could almost see as Danya's right hand man - if he could be said to have one. He was as afraid of Danya as the others, but since he'd been capable and had done his job as he'd been told, Danya had counted on him for more tasks - for example, sending his messages back and forth to the United States. It was a fairly easy thing, and he hoped that for his sake, none of the messages got lost thanks to some inept delivery boy, for it could look bad on him.

Dorian's daydreaming came to a screetching halt when he looked on the computer screen in front of him and saw what the alarm was REALLY screeching about. Eyes agape, he was filled with a sensation of both panic and near-relief. It was almost over. This hell of a job - that even now he felt guilty about accepting, was about to come to an end. Grimacing, he knew what his next move would be. Rising from his seat, he walked across the room to another station - the main station, the one that Danya usually sauntered around when he was actually in the base of operations. It had a somewhat cliched-looking red phone attached to it, which was a direct scrambled line to Danya's personal cellular phone. Picking it up, he gulped nervously as the line rang three times, and then was picked up by that ever-too-familiar voice. Dorian tried his best to muster up the confidence that he needed to make the necessary announcement.

"I-it's Dorian, sir. T-the competition is down to...well, it's down to five, sir..."

Dorian had always wondered how Danya seemed to get from one place to another so damned quickly. He'd informed him about the alarm which had signified the final five had arrived, and it appeared that the final five was something that Danya had very determined plans for. Of course, in the ten minutes that it had taken for Danya to come from wherever it was that he had been (Dorian assumed it mustn't have been all that far), the fifth competitor - Angelina Kaige, the terrorist who he'd fantasized about a few times, had managed to get herself killed, wiping the terrorists from the competition entirely. Dorian assumed that Danya would be downright jolly about that fact, proving once and for all that you NEVER crossed Danya. He couldn't help but wonder if Danya would ever be caught. As much as the man scared him, he seemed to have all of his bases covered. Even still, Dorian hadn't been looking forward to the fact that Danya's ideal final five seemed to have become a foursome. As the imposing man walked into the room and headed straight for Dorian himself, he seemed to shrink a little under the man's gaze.

Fucking charismatic leaders...

Taking it upon himself, he straightened himself up, and weakly stepped over to where Danya was heading. Meeting him halfway seemed to surprise Danya, who raised his eyebrow at Dorian and, without having to even speak, demanded a status report, which Dorian stammered out to him.

"The, uh, the five, sir. It's become four. Kaige was k-killed by Boy 80, sir."

Danya's blank expression first turned into a deep scowl, but then a merry little smirk as he realized that the three terrorists who'd managed to irk him had all been killed. There was no fear of reparation. In the first place, Danya hadn't been anticipating any of them to make it even close to the ending, but he had to admit to himself that Kaige getting as far as she did had made him uneasy. She'd certainly served her purpose, sending down eleven students before getting killed herself, and he made a mental note to try not to underestimate intense female soldiers anymore. It was always the woman that seemed to stand out at the oddest times. Bringing himself back to the sputtering Dorian in front of him, he smiled that evil grin of his, and (much to Dorian's surprise) put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Dorian. You've been more than adequate while you've been here. But if you keep stammering like that, I'm seriously going to drug you up and leave you here, once we all leave. Relax, will you? You're putting ME on edge."

Danya didn't mean his words, but ever since the incident with the three terrorists who'd been caught broadcasting a fanfic across the island, almost none of his underlings even looked him in the eyes anymore. He enjoyed being feared, but the fear was getting to the point where he couldn't have a decent conversation with anyone but his own family. Not waiting to even see if Dorian stopped stammering, Danya continued on.

"So it's four, now, instead of five? There isn't much we can do about that, Dorian. It isn't like we can bring Kaige back to life only to kill her again moments later. So you know what you do, Dorian? You improvise. You adapt. Which is exactly what we're going to do."

As the mikes all over the island crackled to life, that ever-too-familiar voice filled every crack of the island. "Good afternoon, kiddos! It looks like we're really getting down to the good stuff, wouldn't you say?" Danya laughed to himself, clearing his throat a little before continuing. "But before I start to tell you the REALLY important information, how about we get some other stuff out of the way first?"

"After the last announcement left off, we were at ten people remaining. That's right, you were all part of the final ten. Aren't you all proud of yourselves? I hope so. But guess what, kids? The number's gone down. The 114th person overall to die was Stevan Hyde - and I've got to say that Lucinda Garnett really outdid herself. Running him down with a car? That impresses even ME! I hope she hit him with both sets of wheels. And well, you know what they say, kids: smoking will kill you, but so will getting hit by a car! Coming in 9th place was then Ms. Garnett herself. After quite the chase around the island - in cars, no less, she came right back into a danger zone and died when her collar exploded. It was, of course, probably for the best, being as she was on fire and all. The kid she was chasing, one Jeremy Torres, was 116th, or 8th place, for those of you whose minds aren't functioning so well. Of course, Jeremy drove himself into a danger zone as well - which, really, if you're in a car, sounds like a real stupid thing to do. But hey, it's always good to outdo yourself, right? So if that wasn't dumb enough, he then went ahead and shot himself. This close to the end, and he shoots himself? What a waste."

Danya yawned a little, and continued on, somewhat mockingly.

"Next, finishing 7th overall, was that French chick. Clemence Ceillet de Rousseau. What a mouthful. Something tells me that I probably wouldn't be able to spell that. Our resident island rapis-oh, that's right, I guess he's not the resident island rapist anymore, now that Kaige is trying to steal his title, but anyways, Cody Jenson really did a number on that Clemence girl. Then again, with her being as thin as she was, I'm surprised she wasn't the first one out, broken in half by a strong wind. Then again, those girls...you never can count them out. Just like the person who finished 6th overall did - Drew Lynn. He went a little crazy, then got in a shootout with Kaige - which, I can't say is all that great of a strategy, but hey, whatever floats your boat, right? Drew made the silly little mistake of shooting her in the gut, as opposed to the head. Come on, Drew? Haven't you seen, oh, I don't know...ANY zombie movie EVER? So Drew paid the price with his head. Or, perhaps, his neck, that is, as Kaige got up and broke his neck. I'm told it was quite gruesome, actually." Danya stopped, paused, and snapped his fingers a few time, as he was handed a paper that had the details of the last death on it. "And finally, to round it out, the 119th person to die was our very own Ms. Angelina Kaige, from a shot to the head by Jack O'Connor. I'm sorry, Mr. Dodd. Your fuckbuddy has died. I hope you're not in too much angst over this."

Danya suddenly got real serious, and the mocking tone disappeared, making him sound all the more evil.

"So here we are, kiddos. I suppose that there isn't much to hide anymore, is there? There's only FOUR of you left. And just so there aren't any surprises, I figure that you all ought to know who it is you're up against. You know, just in case you HAVEN'T figured it out already. 119 people have died before you, and now, we're down to four men. Our own famous little hockey player, Sidney Crosby. I have to say, Sidney. You've impressed quite a few people here. It seems you have your own little fan following outside of your hockey league. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how, but you've managed to do it. Maybe I'll snatch a few more hockey players next time around. In fact, if I've read my information correctly, three of the four of you seem to have played hockey."

Danya paused, almost as if amused by this strange fact.

"Yeah, I'll definitely make a point to grab more hockey players. Anyways..." He paused briefly. "That brings us to Mr. Crosby's arch-nemesis - Cody Jenson. Mr. Jenson's also attracted quite a bit of attention, though I can't say that it's the same kind as Mr. Crosby. In fact, there are quite a few people who're calling for your head, Cody. Something or other about you raping people, or whatnot. I can't say I approve too much myself, but - what is it that they say in America? 'Different strokes for different folks'? You're different, that's for certain. And you sure know how to make an enemy.

Which brings us to the easiest guy on the island, Adam Dodd. You know, the more I think about it, the more I can't help but wonder if Mr. Jenson is the nemesis of Dodd, Crosby, or even both. Either way, he really knows how to make people dislike him. But back to you, Mr. Dodd. The man who's been cursing my name since he got onto the island. Ever since he started playing our little game. Made several threats against my life. And who would've thought that he's in the final four. Then again, killing ten people - and yes, everyone, that is the highest total amongst students, killing ten people will definitely help get you there. But honestly, Adam, would you stop complaining about those girlfriends of yours? You got laid, generally that shuts people up!"

The transmission became a little staticy, causing Danya to tap his microphone a few times and look at it in disgust. He looked at Dorian through the window, and Dorian, in the other room, shrugged. Danya then continued and the static let up a little.

"And we come to the final member of our final four - Jack O'Connor. You got lucky in that warehouse, boy-o. By all accounts, you should have died there, but you didn't, and you even managed to be part of the exclusive club of terrorist-killers. You and Mr. Dodd can go have your own little secret passwords, decoder rings, and everything. Ooooh! Won't that be fun?" The sarcasm dripped off of his words like hot butter off popcorn. "You've played that classic 'fly-under-the-radar' game, Mr. O'Connor. It's probably how you managed to outlive the rest of your pathetic baseball team. Didn't you know? Hockey's apparently the way to go, these days. Maybe you should talk to one of your fellow final four members about it."

Danya finished reading his notes, and tossed them away, getting close up to the mike and sneering into it.

"So here we stand, kids. Four of you left, and you've got to get down to one. As it stands now, there are danger zones right, left, and center. In fact, the four of you are probably in the only zones that aren't going to make your neck explode. So for a one-time only little gift, from me, to you, I'm going to make the entire island a free spot. That, of course, is only going to mean that you're going to have enough time to get to your final destination. That spot is the River. The time right now is 4:39pm, in case any of you have lost track of the time. I know, doesn't time fly when you're having fun? I'm going to give you all an hour and a half to get to the river, after which time, every single other zone on the island will turn into a danger zone. If you don't get there in time, you'll explode. Which'll make for a let-down of a final battle, but it'd be your own damned fault. Now remember, kids. It's Survival of the Fittest. You four are the only ones left. You win...you get to keep breathing air into your lungs. You lose, and you become just another type of compost. One and a half hours, kiddos. Keep those guns loaded and those swords sharpened, because now - now it's time to figure out who is the fittest."

Danya's voice became deadly serious as he spoke, and the transmission cut off with a rustle of static and a sharp sound of the button being pressed to end the transmission.

First Announcement
The first few rays of sunlight had just begun their assault on the night sky as the public access speakers strategically placed across the entire island crackled to life, blaring a loud symphonic melody into the otherwise peaceful atmosphere surrounding the island... peaceful, at least, to the people who weren't being slaughtered there. The blaring music commanded attention, not just from the students-turned-captive prowling the island, but to the viewing audience at home as well. Within moments, however, the melody was drowned out by a voice all too familiar, but still ominous in tone, to the American public.

"Goooood morning, children!"

It was a line that had been uttered ten times over during the first official round of Survival of the Fittest, but it certainly wouldn't be the last time that phrase was heard. On the other side of the public access system, a lone figure sat in a plush chair, carelessly flipping over multiple pages of SOTF data.

"I see you've been busy little beavers. Splendid! Wonderful! Fantastic, even! Such initiative, such gusto! What a way to begin the game! In the past twenty-four hours, twelve of you have died! Splendid, children, simply splendid! You're certainly setting a lightning fast pace for this leg of the game. Oh, but enough about that. I'm sure you're all just ever so curious as to which of your friends have been slaughtered in the first hours of the game, as well as who the killers-in-disguise lurking in your group are. Oops, silly me! I shouldn't have told you that part."

Danya smirked to himself as he rambled into the microphone, however the smile was interrupted by a quick sneeze right into the public access system. With a sniffle and a shake of his head, Danya continued on.

"You'll have to forgive me, children. All this smog gets the better of me at times. Now then, onto those early outs of the game. First to go down was Chad Munteanu, courtesy of Mr. Jonathan Michaels. What heartlessness, even in the beginning of the game! This poor kid came running to Michaels asking for a bit of help... a bit of compassion... a little friendship. Michaels answered by shoving his shotgun down Munteanu's throat and pulling the trigger. Quite the aggressor, that little chihuahua is. Funnily enough, after scoring the first out in the game, he pretty much got beat by a girl. Hear that, Hobbs? Your own Jonathan Michaels, featherweight whats-a-whos-it, got his rear handed to him by one of the island's little ladies!"

"Second to die was Jaime Dibenidetti, courtesy of Miss Mariavel Varella. Apparently there was some bad blood between these two girls. Mariavel slept with Jaime's father, or some kind of teenage drama or another. Who really cares, right? What matters is that Jaime's dead, courtesy of Mariavel's tomahawk. Meanwhile, back at the farm, or rather, at the hotel, Brittany Ashworth met a quite early demise when Paris Persphone decided he wanted a little blood with his breakfast and stabbed her to death in the hallway."

A loud yawn escaped Danya's lips and made its way through the broadcast system, indicating just how little he cared for the fact that he was reading off the names of former students turned corpses. Then again, this wasn't the first time Danya had orchestrated a program like this. The lives of the students dying meant very little to him. It was the reasoning behind the program -- the deep-rooted shot at the American government -- in which he found enjoyment.

"Fourth to die was Brad Wilson, in Mr. Michaels's second kill of the day. If you want my opinion, Brad got what he deserved. Who in their right mind slips a recovering... he WAS recovering, wasn't he? Oh, who cares. Drug addict some LSD? Brad paid for that mistake with his life. Fifth to die was Dan Birch, courtesy of Bryan Calvert. What started out as Bryan simply looking for a place to rest ended with him testing out that shotgun on Dan. Reflex or not, Calvert, you still killed him. Now you get to live with that."

As he uttered the words, he didn't sound cold and cruel, as though stating a harsh fact of life. No, instead, Danya sounded almost giddy about the entire ordeal.

"Once upon a time, kids, there were three students lurking around the hotel. One was named Franco Sebberts, one was named Marvin Hendrick, and one was named Russ Gofis. For about... half a second, these three were allies. Then, Russ assisted Franco in killing Marvin. Fun little story, isn't it? This next one..."

For just a moment, Danya erupted in a fit of laughter, his voice booming through the speakers as he did so. He continued to laugh loudly for almost a minute straight before sniffling and, unbenowst to the students, wiping away a tear from having laughed so hard.

"Oh, number seven was just terrific kids. Listen closely, you're going to get a kick out of this one. You know how we sort of... threw you all out of helicopters at the beginning of the game? Well... apparently, my colleagues need to be a bit more careful from now on. Seventh to die was Jameson Doeert. It seems that we... well... broke him."

Danya's laughter continued for a moment longer, it slowly turning into a soft snicker at the fact that Jameson had died as soon as he hit the ground. Taking a moment to contain himself, his eyes scanned down the list a bit further before stopping on the eighth death of the day.

"Blake Ross!" Danya practically yelled into the microphone, "I commend you, good sir! Mr. Ross eliminated Gregory Moyer from the competition, you see. With a bible, no less! It had all the makings of a great horror movie! The crazy psychopath attacks the hero, but the hero valiantly fights him off! Except, THIS time, the hero wins and uses his bible to impale his victim's head on a saddle hook! Bravo, Ross."

So the death was an accident. So what? The students sure didn't know that, now did they?

"Moving onward, Preston Grey was ninth to die, falling to the hand of Paris Persphone. So cliché. Preston tried to play hero and fell to Paris, who seems to think he's some stone-cold killer or something. Either way, that's two for Persphone. Meanwhile, down in the deep, dark sewers, Adrian Gray was busy killing Joshua Moore, making him our tenth to fall. Number eleven to die was Caitlin Evans and... well, we aren't quite sure WHAT happened here. Quite the odd situation, indeed. Did you know that humans could sponanteously combust, children? We were going to detonate her collar, just for fun, but it seems Mother Nature and Natural Selection beat us to it."

"And finally, I bring you to number twelve on the list. He was some Hobbsborough kid by the name of Jin Li-Jen, and apparently he had really bad breath, but that's pretty irrelevant. His killer, Walter Smith, really did a bang-up job with this one. You should all take a page from Mr. Smith's book. This kid was issued a rock for a weapon at the beginning of the game, but it sure didn't stop him! He made a makeshift knife, found Mr. Li-Jen in the hotel, and the rest, well, I'll leave to your imagination. Let's just say that the corpse will be reeking of something other than bad breath now if you happen upon it."

Danya smiled smugly as he recited the details of Jin Li-Jen's death at the hands of Walter Smith. Steven had informed him that Walter would probably be quite the spitfire in the game, having known the Smith family relatively well, and so far, he wasn't failing to disappoint. After another stifled yawn, Danya cleared his throat into the microphone and continued on.

"So, what's next on today's agenda, you ask? Dangerzones. I'm noticing that several of you are banding together, trying to hide out. So, let's stir things up a bit, shall we? The first dangerzone will be the Schoolhouse. The second one? The Lighthouse. Third, the Church. Finally, one more dangerzone to spice things up a bit, the Pagoda. Run, kids! Run! You don't have much time to get out!"

Danya chuckled slightly at the thought of the students in those areas making a mad dash as far away as possible. To him, the whole game was quite amusing, to say the least. As if something finally dawned on him, Danya once again clasped the microphone he was speaking into, his eyes alighting as he did so.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot! I think you all will get quite the kick out of this. See, apparently the boys in the office were getting a little bored with you all, or something, so they decided to vote for their favorite killer! Exciting, isn't it? Well, normally I'm not a very generous person, so I wouldn't do this, but I sort of figured what the hell, let's mix it up some more, you know? Boy #2 and Boy #30, report to the marina as soon as possible. You two -- I won't refer to you by name for the sake of anonymity, because you know, the boys in the office like you. You two tied as winner of this little office contest, and so, because we really aren't completely heartless, we're going to give you a brand new prize to terrorize the island with! Head on over, don't dawdle, now! Collars for Boy #2 and Boy #30 ONLY will be deactivated just long enough for them to pick up their prize. Anyone else entering the marina at this time will face automatic detonation. Sound good?"

With that, Danya's voice faded from the public access system and the obnoxious music that echoed across the island at the beginning of the announcement began bellowing once more. In his chair, Danya hummed along with the music, his hand connecting with the chair in a soft drumming rhythm every few moments. It was a great start to another great game, indeed.

Second Announcement
The noise of rapidly moving fingers dancing across a computer keyboard seemed to echo throughout the base which the terrorists had occupied in order to initiate the SOTF V2 program. The man behind the keyboard -- a timid man with thick glasses -- continued to type rapidly, the worried expression on his face becoming more and more apparent with time.

"... Miss Nguyen?" the man muttered hesitantly after a moment longer, causing the bespectacled Asian woman sitting at a nearby desk to cast him an annoyed glance.

"Yes?"

Her response came more as a growl than an actual inquiry. The man removed the headphones from his ears momentarily and motioned toward the computer monitor in front of him which was, surprisingly, not monitoring the Survival of the Fittest competition, but rather, the weather. Sonia Nguyen rose from her desk and idly strode over to the monitor, staring at it with a mild amount of curiosity.

"W-we should t-t-tell the boss, right?"

A swift right hand collided with the back of the soldier's head, causing him to yelp, more in surprise than pain. When they'd planned the second Survival of the Fittest project, they thought they had taken everything into account. It seemed that the only thing that hadn't really been taken into consideration was inclimate weather. Sonia swooped her cell phone off of the desk she'd been sitting idly in and headed out the door. The soldier, meanwhile, continued to monitor the rather large storm cell that was approaching the island...

For the second time on the island, the public access systems placed across the area sparked to life, once again blaring a lively, probably unrecognizable melody. The clearing of a man's throat was heard before Mr. Danya erupted in a prolonged fit of coughing into the microphone. After a sniffle, he cleared his throat once again and began.

"Terribly sorry about that, children. This is truly such a dirty country, filled with smog and pollution. Not like in the homeland, no. As you can imagine, the filth and grime does a number on my sinuses. Or perhaps, I'm just allergic to Americans."

He sniffled again and seemed to stifle a sneeze.

"But you're not my doctors, and we're not here to talk about my allergies, now are we? For those of you who're already beginning to lose it and have somehow lost track of time, I'd like to congratulate you all for surviving this long. We're approaching Day Three of your little endeavor, and if I had my guess about it, the island is starting to reek just a little bit. I thought we'd gotten off to a lightning fast start on the first day, but you all have surprised even me. Yesterday on the island, I'd like to inform you all that a whopping eighteen of your peers were brutally murdered. Eighteen, children. You're all quite the bloodthirsty little pack, aren't you?"

Danya paused long enough to shuffle some of the papers that were apparently sitting on his desk. One could only assume that those papers contained his "important" information, such as a list of the dead.

"Maybe bloodthirsty isn't the right word..." he continued on, his eyebrows raising in mild amusement as he read over the data, "Pop quiz, children. What is a dangerzone? Is it not self-explanatory that if you linger in a DANGERzone for a prolonged amount of time, that your life will be in DANGER? Perhaps for the next game, I'll call them stay-here-too-long-and-you-blow-up-zones. Perhaps that'll convey the message just a little better, you think?"

He sighed and, unbenowst to the children on the island, shook his head slightly.

"Regardless. The first of the day to die was Tanesha Lexx. Now, RIGHT after I announced that the pagoda was going to be a dangerzone, this ignorant tart headed right for it. As one could expect, she blew up. Kasumi White wasn't too far behind her. She lingered in the church, searching for her beloved. It's called Survival of the Fittest for a reason, kids, and this little girl couldn't function without her little boyfriend, so we did her a favor. Those of you who're so bent on searching for those special someone's out there might want to keep that in mind. Third to die was Laura Diesen. Apparently the way to rebel against this game is to kill yourself instead of dying by another student's hand. Whatever. As long as you're dead at the end of the day, it's no skin off my back."

"That's three down, fifteen more to go, kids. I hope you're writing this down. Fourth to die was Randy Blailocke. It would seem he fell asleep in a dangerzone, or something to that effect. Honestly now. Number five was Jordan McKiernan. This was sort of a tag team death by both Bryan Calvert and Tori Johnson, but Mr. Calvert WAS ultimately the one who killed him. Hear that, Tori? You're 0-1 baby, you've gotta catch up. Number six was Lester Treskington, who was maimed, mangled, and murdered by Oliver Dodd. Number seven? Mary-Anne Robinson. Pity, she was a cute one. She met her end at the hands of Harry Constantine. Number eight to die was Wanda Lovett, just another poor soul who thought she could beat the game by eliminating herself from it."

He wasn't even halfway through the list yet and already, he was getting bored. Sure, a lot of people had died on day two, and it was more or less a success, but even Danya was disgusted at the stupidity with which some of the students lost their lives. He supposed that was the trouble with high school students.

"Moving along, number nine was Matthew Lafferty, killed by Andi Ayala. Number ten... huh. Number ten was Eric Silvstedt, killed by his own best friend, Ricky Callahan. It was a story... about a girl, it seems. Mr. Callahan eliminated his own best friend from the game in an attempt to save some girl's life. That's almost... romantic. Almost."

Laughter from the thought of it erupted in the microphone and Danya inevitably let out a snort before he finally stopped laughing and cleared his throat. This smog really was killing him. This country was so very nasty, not like the homecountry at all.

"Eleventh to die was Nessy Guthrie. It seems Steven Stencell took Porky Pig to the slaughterhouse or something. Hahaha. Not really, but it's more interesting than what really happened. Twelfth, and this is a bit of a shocker, was one of my personal favorites, Mr. Jonathan Michaels. I'm disappointed, I must say. After being one of the top killers on Day One, Mr. Michaels met his end at the hands of twelve-year-old Brandon Cuthbert. Quite pathetic. Thirteenth to die was Christian Cohen, also at the hands of little Brandon. Now, it's becoming an issue of pride, kids. The twelve-year-old kid is doing better than some of you. Better catch up."

Before Danya could continue with the announcement, the door behind him squealed open quietly and a soldier stepped through. Danya swung around, the irritation at being interrupted quite apparent on his features as he looked at the soldier. The man held up some more papers, and Danya waved him closer, jerking the papers from his grasp before pointing toward the door. Although he wasn't facing the microphone, his yelling was still audible in the PA system.

"Thank you, now I believe I told you NOT TO INTERRUPT ME WHILE I'M DOING MY ANNOUNCEMENTS!"

"S-s-sorry sir!"

"Wonderful, now get out."

The sound of the door clicking shut again was audible in the silence that followed, and Danya once again let out a cough before turning back toward the microphone.

"Sorry about that, apparently some people don't understand what do not disturb means. Moving along... where was I? Oh yes. Fourteenth to die was Melanie DeSilva, courtesy of one of our lovely little farm ladies, Miss Debrah Dollop. Fifteenth was Darren Oaklan in the third... third? Yes, third death by Paris Persphone. Sixteenth was Lance Adams, falling not too long after his beloved Kasumi, at the hands of island psychopath Marimar Perez. You guys should meet this girl, she's a real trip. Number seventeen was Nich Finlayson, and you don't know how glad I am of that. I must thank the lovely Miss Mariavel Varella for ridding us of another punk. Finally, eighteenth to die was Sylvea Hill. She really stood no chance in comparison to Vesa Turunen, and that's why it's called Survival of the Fittest."

It was then that Danya finally stopped to look at the piece of paper the soldier had handed him, and his face alighted in a smile of mild amusement.

"I've got some more news, children. We'll be switching dangerzones today, because spontaneity is exciting. So, as of now, consider the pagoda, church, lighthouse, and... oh, that other place... the, the... um... ah yes! The school building! Consider those areas cleared as of now. There will be three new dangerzones. The forest, the hospital, and the hotel. If you're in the area... and from what I hear, a lot of you are in the area, I'd suggest you start running now, lest we have to make an example of more of you."

Danya chuckled to himself. He had always enjoyed the dangerzones and the sheer amount of panic that ensued whenever he placed another one into effect. Some of his terroristic team had questioned him when he decided to clear the buildings of their dangerzone status, but he wasn't a completely heartless man. A storm was rolling in, and it was the very least he could do to let them murder one another over shelter.

"Now then, those of you who aren't running for your lives would do good to listen, because I've got just a little bit more to report to you all. After the past success of our little office poll, and yes, it was QUITE entertaining watching Boy #30 get mugged by Boy #2, we've decided to do it again this round. Once again, the winner is a guy. Ladies, you're going to have to play some major catch-up. That's three for three the guys have on you. Anyway, Boy #27, you know who you are, you've won our office poll this time around, and you know what that means. Head down to the marina to pick up your prize! The area will be off-limits to anyone except Boy #27 until his prize is retrieved, so the rest of you would do good to stay away, or at least hide a considerable distance away in the bushes and ambush him while he leaves! Oh dear, I'm giving you all ideas, aren't I?"

"One more thing, little warriors! I'm sure you've all noticed that it's starting to drizzle outside, but the worst is yet to come! The command center has informed me that you're all going to be in for a rough ride over the next day or two, because that drizzle is going to turn into one hell of a thunderstorm. Now, aren't you glad I gave you some shelter to fight over... I mean, hide in? Run for cover, little warriors! Run for cover!"

Danya snickered to himself as he flicked the microphone off and rose from the desk he'd been leaned up against. The change in weather was certain to make things more interesting for the next day or two. After all, everyone gets a little stir-crazy during thunderstorms, especially when they're stuck outside and surrounded by murderers... or so he would imagine. Danya exited the compact room he had been sitting in and walked down a long hallway. As he emerged from the nondescript building he'd been lurking in, he couldn't help but halfway smile as the sun began to rise over the Lincoln Memorial. For a moment, he couldn't help but think that the Americans truly didn't realize what they had. Today... was gonna be a hell of a day.

Third Announcement
Five long, harsh days on the island had had a profound impact on almost everybody in the area. Everybody, that is, except for Mr. Danya and his entourage of terrorists. Now, the slightly heavy man once again sat in the plush chair of his office, preparing once again to make an announcement concerning the fates of the children on the island. Day four hadn't been particularly impressive, by any means. The storm had been a large deterrent in killing, it seemed. However, Danya couldn't help but be overjoyed that he was finally back home. His trip hadn't been a pleasant one, needless to say.

The rain had finally come to a halt on the island after two long days, although the clouds had yet to completely disappear. Instead of pouring rain, the entirety of the island was now covered in a dense fog, making it hard for even the cameras stationed around the island to catch a glimpse of the action that could've been going on. Danya grimaced slightly. How was the viewing audience at home supposed to enjoy the show when they couldn't see it? Still, perhaps it was better that way, for now. The intense winds of the thunderstorm that had billowed through had knocked many of the cameras loose, if not shut them down completely. What an utter nuisance.

"Mr. Danya, s-sir?" the trembling voice of Dorian spoke up, throwing Danya from his reverie.

"What do you want, Dorian?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, sir, but we're having problems with the cameras again. We're getting nothing but static from most of them. The only ones picking up signal are the ones inside the buildings. Nearly all of the outdoor cameras are down."

"And?" Danya interjected carelessly.

"W-well sir... we're working on getting the links back up, but... but I think some of them are gonna have to be fixed from the island itself."

Danya shrugged lightly, "So why're you telling me this, Dorian? If that's what needs to be done, assemble a team and do it. You're good with computers, aren't you? Go yourself."

"Sir?"

Dorian tried to hide the fact that he was trembling visibly. He didn't even want to participate in this hellish program. Not after the first one. Now, Danya was trying to send him out onto the island to fix camera signals. It was like the man was signing his own death sentence with not a care in the world. It made Dorian angry, but he was resigned to his fate. He let out a light sigh. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad. He could assemble a team of soldiers and head out under the cover of the fog.

"Get a move on," Danya huffed, "I've got an announcement to make, you know. You're taking up valuable time."

"Yes sir. Sorry sir. I'll be heading out shortly to fix the cameras."

--

"Good morning, boys and girls!" five days in a row, the same greeting had blared through the PA systems spread across the island. The rain had messed with the speakers a bit, making the announcement scratchy, but still audible, "I take it you're all glad to see that the storm is finally over. Then again, with all that fog out there, I bet it's pretty hard to see much of anything, isn't it? Well, let's get on with it, then. Fourteen people died over the course of yesterday, which isn't tremendous, I must admit. Still, I guess I can cut you guys a little bit of slack, the weather was pretty bad. First on the list of the dead is Annabelle Buchannon. Apparently, Miss Buchannon got fed up with the game and decided to hang out in the Industrial District till we blew her up. Pity."

"Second to die was Russ Gofis. Our infamous Boy #2 had the right idea when it came to Mr. Gofis, and simply used him as an expendable asset. It seems they were looking for supplies in the mall before it became a dangerzone when Mr. Gofis got pinned under a shelf. His allies left him for dead. At least they left him a gun, so Russell shot himself rather than allowing his collar to be detonated. Number three to die was Adam Amato. He found himself on the wrong side of Brandon Cuthbert's shotgun, it seems. Fourth to die was Brandon Cuthbert, who was killed by Sera Wingfield right after offing Adam Amato. Fifth to die was Edgar Judah. What a pity, after having his brother on the last show, I was almost rooting for little Edgar. He was killed by Dan Cosyn, who injected air into his heart with a syringe. I hear that's painful."

"Moving right along, number six was Andrew Panturescu. Apparently, Mr. Panturescu hijacked a car on the island and was aimlessly driving around... at least till he nearly hit a student on the expressway and rolled the vehicle in an attempt to avoid her. The accident, of course, killed him. What a complete idiot. He should've just ran her over. Then, not only would he still be alive, but he would've gotten credit for her death! Number seven to die was Alex Ovechkin who was shot with his own gun by Mariavel Varella. Miss Varella proceeded to finish off Rupert Stockton next, giving her two kills for the day. Ninth to die? Alice Nichols, eliminated from the competition by Roland Kelly. Number ten was Shae Arnav, axed by Bryan Calvert while trying to cannibalize one of the island's many corpses. Eleventh to die was Steven Stencell. Mr. Stencell died at the hands of Matthew Drew. Congratulations on your first kill, Mr. Drew! Twelfth down was Andrew Swainson, offed by Peter Rosenthal for being at the wrong place at the wrong time and walking in on something very... shall we say, intimate. Last, but not least, killed by Mr. Damien Carter-Madison, the final student to die yesterday was Eli McConnell."

Danya sighed lightly. This game was going to rival the first one in tems of length, it seemed. Slowly but surely, though, it was getting down to the wire. He supposed it was time to start fencing them in.

"Now then... dangerzones. The residential district, industrial area, and the mall are now cleared and you can once again access them. This time, though, we're going to have a whopping five dangerzones, and they'll be permanent. What's that mean, kids? That means we're getting down to the wire here. From now on, the mansion ruins, the mountain ranch, the wheat field, the cliffs, and the farmhouse will no longer be accessible to any of you. If you're there, I'd suggest clearing out immediately, and don't plan on coming back."

A light smirk passed over his face. He'd force them all into the center of the island. It was sure to be a bloodbath.

"Just one last thing. It's prize time for a very lucky little person out there on the island! Boy #12, we like your work! We like your work very, very much! Head on over to the marina and pick up your prize! ... Well children, I suppose that's all for today. I expect you to rack up quite the count today. Not only has it stopped raining, but you've got the cover of fog to work under, so get to murdering the competition. About half of you remain, and with every one that dies, you increase your own chances of survival. Remember that. Good luck, kids! Keep on keepin' on, and all that jazz!"

With that, Danya shut off the public access system and rested his head in his hands. Dorian just had to ruin his victorious return with that bad news about the cameras. Still, what the students didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Besides, they'd be sending a team to take care of the downed cameras soon enough. It was just a matter of getting the links back up and seeing which cameras were actually out...

Fourth Announcement
Five long, harsh days on the island had had a profound impact on almost everybody in the area. Everybody, that is, except for Mr. Danya and his entourage of terrorists. Now, the slightly heavy man once again sat in the plush chair of his office, preparing once again to make an announcement concerning the fates of the children on the island. Day four hadn't been particularly impressive, by any means. The storm had been a large deterrent in killing, it seemed. However, Danya couldn't help but be overjoyed that he was finally back home. His trip hadn't been a pleasant one, needless to say.

The rain had finally come to a halt on the island after two long days, although the clouds had yet to completely disappear. Instead of pouring rain, the entirety of the island was now covered in a dense fog, making it hard for even the cameras stationed around the island to catch a glimpse of the action that could've been going on. Danya grimaced slightly. How was the viewing audience at home supposed to enjoy the show when they couldn't see it? Still, perhaps it was better that way, for now. The intense winds of the thunderstorm that had billowed through had knocked many of the cameras loose, if not shut them down completely. What an utter nuisance.

"Mr. Danya, s-sir?" the trembling voice of Dorian spoke up, throwing Danya from his reverie.

"What do you want, Dorian?"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, sir, but we're having problems with the cameras again. We're getting nothing but static from most of them. The only ones picking up signal are the ones inside the buildings. Nearly all of the outdoor cameras are down."

"And?" Danya interjected carelessly.

"W-well sir... we're working on getting the links back up, but... but I think some of them are gonna have to be fixed from the island itself."

Danya shrugged lightly, "So why're you telling me this, Dorian? If that's what needs to be done, assemble a team and do it. You're good with computers, aren't you? Go yourself."

"Sir?"

Dorian tried to hide the fact that he was trembling visibly. He didn't even want to participate in this hellish program. Not after the first one. Now, Danya was trying to send him out onto the island to fix camera signals. It was like the man was signing his own death sentence with not a care in the world. It made Dorian angry, but he was resigned to his fate. He let out a light sigh. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad. He could assemble a team of soldiers and head out under the cover of the fog.

"Get a move on," Danya huffed, "I've got an announcement to make, you know. You're taking up valuable time."

"Yes sir. Sorry sir. I'll be heading out shortly to fix the cameras."

"Good morning, boys and girls!" five days in a row, the same greeting had blared through the PA systems spread across the island. The rain had messed with the speakers a bit, making the announcement scratchy, but still audible, "I take it you're all glad to see that the storm is finally over. Then again, with all that fog out there, I bet it's pretty hard to see much of anything, isn't it? Well, let's get on with it, then. Fourteen people died over the course of yesterday, which isn't tremendous, I must admit. Still, I guess I can cut you guys a little bit of slack, the weather was pretty bad. First on the list of the dead is Annabelle Buchannon. Apparently, Miss Buchannon got fed up with the game and decided to hang out in the Industrial District till we blew her up. Pity."

"Second to die was Russ Gofis. Our infamous Boy #2 had the right idea when it came to Mr. Gofis, and simply used him as an expendable asset. It seems they were looking for supplies in the mall before it became a dangerzone when Mr. Gofis got pinned under a shelf. His allies left him for dead. At least they left him a gun, so Russell shot himself rather than allowing his collar to be detonated. Number three to die was Adam Amato. He found himself on the wrong side of Brandon Cuthbert's shotgun, it seems. Fourth to die was Brandon Cuthbert, who was killed by Sera Wingfield right after offing Adam Amato. Fifth to die was Edgar Judah. What a pity, after having his brother on the last show, I was almost rooting for little Edgar. He was killed by Dan Cosyn, who injected air into his heart with a syringe. I hear that's painful."

"Moving right along, number six was Andrew Panturescu. Apparently, Mr. Panturescu hijacked a car on the island and was aimlessly driving around... at least till he nearly hit a student on the expressway and rolled the vehicle in an attempt to avoid her. The accident, of course, killed him. What a complete idiot. He should've just ran her over. Then, not only would he still be alive, but he would've gotten credit for her death! Number seven to die was Alex Ovechkin who was shot with his own gun by Mariavel Varella. Miss Varella proceeded to finish off Rupert Stockton next, giving her two kills for the day. Ninth to die? Alice Nichols, eliminated from the competition by Roland Kelly. Number ten was Shae Arnav, axed by Bryan Calvert while trying to cannibalize one of the island's many corpses. Eleventh to die was Steven Stencell. Mr. Stencell died at the hands of Matthew Drew. Congratulations on your first kill, Mr. Drew! Twelfth down was Andrew Swainson, offed by Peter Rosenthal for being at the wrong place at the wrong time and walking in on something very... shall we say, intimate. Last, but not least, killed by Mr. Damien Carter-Madison, the final student to die yesterday was Eli McConnell."

Danya sighed lightly. This game was going to rival the first one in tems of length, it seemed. Slowly but surely, though, it was getting down to the wire. He supposed it was time to start fencing them in.

"Now then... dangerzones. The residential district, industrial area, and the mall are now cleared and you can once again access them. This time, though, we're going to have a whopping five dangerzones, and they'll be permanent. What's that mean, kids? That means we're getting down to the wire here. From now on, the mansion ruins, the mountain ranch, the wheat field, the cliffs, and the farmhouse will no longer be accessible to any of you. If you're there, I'd suggest clearing out immediately, and don't plan on coming back."

A light smirk passed over his face. He'd force them all into the center of the island. It was sure to be a bloodbath.

"Just one last thing. It's prize time for a very lucky little person out there on the island! Boy #12, we like your work! We like your work very, very much! Head on over to the marina and pick up your prize! ... Well children, I suppose that's all for today. I expect you to rack up quite the count today. Not only has it stopped raining, but you've got the cover of fog to work under, so get to murdering the competition. About half of you remain, and with every one that dies, you increase your own chances of survival. Remember that. Good luck, kids! Keep on keepin' on, and all that jazz!"

With that, Danya shut off the public access system and rested his head in his hands. Dorian just had to ruin his victorious return with that bad news about the cameras. Still, what the students didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Besides, they'd be sending a team to take care of the downed cameras soon enough. It was just a matter of getting the links back up and seeing which cameras were actually out...

Fifth Announcement
The birds were singing, the bees were buzzing, and Mr. Danya sat in his plush chair, humming giddily to himself as he looked over the information concerning the morning announcement. He had to admit to himself that the children taken for this version of the game were a much more brutal lot than the ones from Barry Coleson had been. Fifteen murders had taken place over the past day. There were a lot of them, but they worked fast. Such a bloodthirsty lot, they were.

He coughed momentarily and let out a sniffle. This summer wasn't treating him very kindly. Still, he wouldn't let that interfere with his work. Once again, it was time for the dreaded morning announcement. It was a passtime Danya took pleasure in. He grinned from ear to ear as he once again looked over his list and flipped the switch on the microphone sitting near him.

"Good morning, children, and what a beautiful morning it is! Just take a look at this gorgeous weather we're having today! No rain, no fog, just a couple mud puddles on the ground and it's all sunshine and butterflies from here on out! Of course... it's getting down to the wire, so maybe you guys are a little too busy fighting for you lives to worry about the weather. Either way, it's irrelevant. Let's get on to the good stuff.

I must admit, I'm proud of you all. You're such an improvement over our last contestants. I've never seen more hate-filled, bloodthirsty kids than you guys. Let's get on with my good ole' list of the deceased, and you'll see what I'm talking about. The first death of yesterday was Miss Lee-Ann Collier. Let this be a lesson to all of you out there. Lee-Ann teamed up with a Mr. Sam Sorenson out on the island. She thought he was her ally. He just wanted a piece of ass. A dead one, at that. Apparently, Mr. Sorenson liked the quiet ones, if you get what I mean. Either way, he wound up trying to strangle her and take advantage of her, so in true coward's fashion, Lee-Ann detonated her collar.

Fascinating, isn't it? The second death of yesterday was a true tragedy indeed. Deliah Dollop was finally reunited with her sister Debrah. I guess the pressure of the game got to her or something, because Deliah wound up having a miscarriage here on the island. Oh so tragic. Her sister wigged out and chopped her up with an axe after she found out about the pregnancy. I think that's what they call taking sisterly love a little bit too far.

Third to die was Sarah Dao. It seems that Sarah was trying to, how to put it? Get her freak on with one of the random guys on the island, and Mr. Robert Adams walked up on them. Sarah tried to kill him. She, obviously, lost. Fourth and fifth to die were Seth Malvice and Walter Smith, killed by a personal favorite of mine, Miss Mariavel Varella. Seth just seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but with Walter, it was so much more personal. Almost... intimate, even, eh Mariavel? Apparently the sex was really bad or something. Shame, Mariavel struck me as the sort of person who liked it rough. Either way, they're both dead, and she's still kicking.

Number six was Burton Harris. He and Chiaki Takao wound up mixing it up, but when the area they were in became a dangerzone, Chiaki had enough sense to get the hell out. Burton, however, didn't. Collar detonation for him. BOOM!"

Danya laughed audibly for a moment before continuing.

"Now then, seventh to die was another personal favorite of mine, An Linh Tuan. Miss Tuan had kept a pretty low profile on the island since mixing it up with Jonathan Michaels way back on Day One. Least, she kept a low profile until she ran into Blake Ross. It was love at first sight, or something like that. Apparently, Blake likes to get rough, ladies. He wound up throwing the poor girl through a window and killing her. I must say, Mr. Ross... kinky. Eighth down was John Matthews. After Jackie Kovacs died several days ago, John swore revenge on his murderer, Felix Travertil. Well, needless to say, John didn't get his revenge. Felix just added another to his kill count.

Number nine to die was quite the little angel. Maggie Heartgreeder stumbled onto a downed powerline in the residential area after the storm blew through. It killed her on contact. See, kids? Even the island is out to get you. Tenth and eleventh down were Cathalie Meguro and Mitch Gunther, offed by Mr. Franco Sebberts. Two more points for Franco. He's giving Mariavel a run for her money when it comes to murdering you all. Next, my favorite necrophiliac, Sam Sorenson, was killed off by Huy Tran when he tried to kill Anna Dibenidetti. So heroic, Mr. Tran. Jenna Cassidy was thirteenth to die, killed by Stephanie Crew. Mr. Roland Kelly finally put his name on the map when he scored kill number fourteen, Mihiro Duli. Finally, last but certainly not least, Mr. Damien Carter-Madison, doormat for everyone at Gilroy Academy, was responsible for the last death of the day, Kristey Burrowell."

The coldness in his voice was apparent as he announced the dead and their murderers. After all, they were just names on a page.

"A few more things before I bid you adieu, children. Damien! Damester! The Dame! We like you, kid. We like you and Huy Tran. Oops, I wasn't supposed to announce your names, was I? That whole anonymity thing, right? Hm... I believe the expression is, my bad? Head on down to the marina, kids. We'll give you something worth your while. Also. Dangerzones. You knew it was coming, kids. The lighthouse, pagoda, and church will join the mountain ranch, cliffs, farmhouse, wheat field, and mansion ruins as dangerzones. The island is shrinking, kids. Are you getting nervous yet? Over and out, guys!"

Sixth Announcement
Seven days. Seven days could be many things. It could be one week. It could be 168 hours. It could be 604,800 seconds. To the students of P.J. Gilroy Academy, Hobbsborough High School, Franklyn Senior High School, and Bathurst High, the past seven days had been the longest week of their lives. Abducted from their respective school trips and forced to go on an island-wide killing spree, by this point in the game, most of them... had not survived. Mr. Danya took much pleasure in this fact. As it stood, 87 of the 118 students abducted had died. That left thirty more for dead before a winner was announced.

"Dun, dun, dun... another one bites the dust!" he sang to himself as he sat in his plush office chair.

He couldn't help but feel a bit giddy. After all, the second game of Survival of the Fittest was drawing to a close. The competition was getting fiercer by the moment, and ratings were through the roof. Not surprisingly, the filthy Americans had taken to turning a profit from the deaths of these students once again, a fact illustrated by the supposed autobiography of Walter Smith that lay on his desk. Of course he'd shelled out the money for it. He'd been quite the fan of Walter's, after all.

A loud beep resounded from his watch, indicating that once again, it was time to provide doom and gloom to the island by announcing who had died, who was left, what the odds were, and all that jazz. Plus, he was quite excited about the fact that they had a brand new face on the prize list... somebody none of the terrorists had encountered yet. Somebody who thought... this truly was a game. Oh, the look on her face when she found out she'd really killed someone. It was priceless... simply priceless.

--

The first chords of the 1980 song from the band Queen boomed out across the island, so loud that it even startled some of the remaining wildlife. Danya enjoyed the song, you see, so he felt the need to share it with the remaining contestants. Besides, it was just a small reminder to them that the game was progressing, people were dying, and they were drawing closer and closer to another winner of another competition.

"Good morning children!" he called out, "It's day seven!"

A wide grin appeared on his features before he brought the microphone up onto his mouth and added in a whisper, "Seven days..."

A laugh followed his remark before he seemed to be back to his chipper, cheerful self, "I loved that movie, don't you all? But anyway, I suppose we should get down to business here. I'm sure you're all itching to know who bit the dust yesterday. Fifteen more students died, bringing our total to 87 down, 30 to go. Keep on killing, kids! First to die was Harry Constantine, killed by Mr. Bryan Calvert. Second down was Ernest Decarteret, offed by Marimar Perez. It was a very gorey day at the hotel, indeed. Next to fall was Michael Neely, eliminated by Mariavel Varella. Marimar Perez was next to fall, killed by Carmen Somerset. Carmen Somerset died immediately after at the hands of Mariavel Varella. Lots of action going on at the hotel, as you can see. Varella was on somewhat of a warpath."

"Venus Gwendolyn was next to die. Guess she just couldn't handle the pressure of the game, so she offed herself and saved you all the trouble. Next down? Licinia Vinici, eliminated by Paris Persphone. Paris sort of disappeared into the shadows for a while, but he seems to be back in action. Franco Sebberts scored the next kill by eliminating his own traveling companion, Nathan Godwin. Just goes to show you that you can't trust anybody in the game. Stephanie Crew died next. One minute, she was fine. The next, she was using Matthew Drew's gun to blow her brains out. The next to die was at the hands of Miss Elizabeth Ebert. You're quite the actress, Miss Ebert. Congratulations on killing Penelope Withers. We enjoyed your scene very, very much."

A grin played across Danya's features at the naiveté of the young girl.

"Matthias Kovalenko is next on our list of the dead, killed by the beautiful Miss Varella. Oh, but where's that sister of his? Dan Cosyn died next at the hands of Roland Kelly. Be careful, Mr. Kelly. You seem to be killing off everyone except your target. Next down was Debrah Dollop, killed by Vesa Turunen. Hear that, Mr. Turunen? You got the wrong girl. You murdered an innocent young lady... well, perhaps she wasn't innocent, she DID chop her sister up with an axe. Still, your girl's at large and your friend? Quite dead."

"Fourteenth down was Chiaki Takao, eliminated by an office favorite, Franco Sebberts. Better watch this one, folks, he's got quite the ruthless streak. Last, but certainly not least, number fifteen to die was Kevin Kapustiak, eliminated in a sneak attack by Rob Adams. Bravo, Mr. Adams. You're one of the few that seems to understand that honor and respect have no place here. After all, you DID shoot a guy in the back of the head."

Danya chuckled to himself for a moment before continuing.

"Now then... dangerzones. In addition to all the other dangerzones, we'll set up three more for this leg of the game. The forest, the sewers, and the river are now permanent dangerzones. That brings me to my final announcement of the day, our contest winner! Elizabeth Ebert, congratulations darling! We love you, we like what you do... so much so that we're going to give you a prize for killing Penelope. Head on down to the marina to pick it up, and don't dawdle, dear. Keep on killing, kids! Keep on killing!"

Danya's voice faded off of the public access system and was once again replaced by the Queen song. Danya hoped beyond hope that by the end of the day, perhaps they'd be down to the final ten.

Seventh Announcement
"Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!"

It wasn't the original song. In fact, it was sung a capella, not to mention totally off key.

"Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, GOODBYE!"

It was louder this time, booming throughout the island's speaker system and shattering everything in its wake. The earsplitting chord of music was followed by audible laughter. First a light chuckle, the laughter quickly erupted into a full-on roar, followed by a couple sniffles -- the sound of a man trying to calm himself.

The sound of drinking could be heard over the system before the cup he was drinking from slammed onto the table with a thud and Danya let out a refreshed sigh. Apparently, things were going well for the big man orchestrating SOTF. He was in quite the chipper mood. He sat in his big, plush chair, with his feet propped up on his desk, ruffling through the papers containing data on the previous day of SOTF.

"My, my, my. I'm pleased, you vile little murderers. I must congratulate you. It's day eight, and the numbers are dwindling. Drastically. In fact, we're two days ahead of schedule! You're slaughtering one another MUCH faster than our last group of kids, and I've got to tell you, we're at no loss for some killer scenes. Get it? Killer? Bahaha."

"So, I suppose you want to know who killed who this time and all that jazz, right? Well, I suppose I can oblige. Paris Persphone -- that's right, the notorious Paris who we thought would be a big game motivator at the beginning -- he pussied out and killed himself at the beginning of the day. Pathetic, really. Next to die was Zilya Merchenkov. I've gotta say, this was a super cool scene. We got big ratings on this one. Zilya and John Davies -- who was, coincidentally, the next person to die -- got into a fight in the school's boiler room. Well, this and that happened and then... KABOOOOOOM!"

He paused for a minute to compose his laughter again.

"It blew up Zilya! It blew up John! It blew up Ali Grayston and Gregg Archer because they picked the wrong room to hide in! All in one glorious display of fireworks! Bahahahaha!"

"Moving right along, then..." he uttered after a moment, "Oliver Dodd got killed by Damien Carter-Madison. The only good Dodd is a dead Dodd, I always say. Next to die was Andi Ayala. Peter used him and abused him, folks. For those of you who don't know, allow me to let you in on the latest island gossip. Apparently, Andi and Peter got off on the idea of screwing on the island. Hey, we don't mind here at Headquarters, that Grade A porno stuff sells like crazy, especially when the two people in it die horrible deaths at the end. Basically, they slept together, then Peter killed Andi. After that, Peter Rosenthal killed himself. Boo hoo, so sad."

"Next up was Felix Travertil. Man, this was one messed up scene. Seth Mattlock shot him, then Bryan Calvert kicked him off the roof and through the skylight, killing him. Now, I'm a fan of letting you guys suffer for as long as possible, but man, I gotta tell you, it was cool stuff. Anyway, then there was this big long heartfelt train of bullshit between Calvert and Seth, seeing as Seth was the big boss man and all that. Long story short, good ole' B.C. killed Seth Mattlock at his request. Such a kind, caring soul you are, Mr. Calvert."

Danya smirked.

"Next to die was Kayla Ravoy. This girl really was dumb. She showed up near the school where Matt Drew, Jana Brown, and Sera Wingfield were. Well, they told her to leave, and she refused. Why the hell would you refuse? Either way, Matt didn't take too kindly to this broad telling him no, and so Kayla made her way onto our list of the dead via a bullet to the head. Next up was Mr. Huy Tran, in a truly tragic and heartwrenching scene. I cried. Bahaha."

"They thought they could beat the game, but they couldn't even coexist with one another. Huy teamed up with Whitney Acosta, Ricky Callahan, and Anna Dibenidetti and barricaded themselves in a house. Basically, Huy decided to be a gentleman and go check on Anna in her sleep. Know what he got for his troubles? SLASH! An axe to the chest by Anna. Totally brutal. Anna boohooed for a while after that and then killed herself, making her the next person to die."

"Meanwhile, Damien Carter-Madison was off getting his final retribution against the only remaining bully on the island, Mr. Roland Kelly. It was quick and simple, and quite frankly, I was disappointed. Shooting him in the head, Damien? You should've made him die slowly... painfully. But, whatever. He's dead, and that's all that matters, eh?"

"Next down was Matt Drew... in quite the literal sense, too. Hehe. Let's just say that Sera Wingfield took him to heaven before she sent him to hell. Hey, she was good to the man. At least she just shot him in the head. He didn't even know she killed him, it was sort of sad. She didn't live too much longer after that, herself. She ran into Gail Smith outside the school building, the two exchanged words, yadda yadda, basically, Gail Smith and Sera Wingfield killed one another in a gunfight to the death."

"Next was Justin Moore, and I've got to tell you, this guy has the worst luck I've seen in my life. I'll give you the short version. He tripped on a knife, stabbed himself in the gut, stumbled around for a while, fell down a manhole, broke his neck, began drowning in sewer water, and then his collar detonated. How's THAT for karma? Hope nobody used a toilet lately, otherwise you helped kill him, you sick bastards. Hahaha."

"All right... the last three to die were Franco Sebberts, Blake Ross, and Horace Malcolm. Man, I don't know what happened in that building, but it must've been pretty bad. Somehow, the fools caused it to collapse, and they were all crushed by debris. That's a hell of a way to enter Endgame, eh? That's right, you heard me correctly. We're down to the final ten now. Only nine more people have to die, and one of you gets to go home. Isn't that wonderful, kids?"

"Now, since there are so few of you left, there's certainly no need for all this space, is there? From now on, there will be only three safe zones on the island. Those zones will be the park, the hospital, and the school. All other areas are permanent dangerzones and must be evacuated immediately. In other words, get the hell out before we blow your collars. Hahaha. Fight on, little warriors, and keep the slaughter going! You're almost home free!"

Eighth Announcement
Eight days ago, four different schools in the city of Denton, New Jersey, set out on four various trips. Only, they'd never return home. En route to their destinations, the classes were abducted by a brigade of terrorists scouting the newest "talent" for their reality game show: a vicious game known as Survival of the Fittest. The premise of the game was simple. Kill or be killed. The strong will live, the weak must die. That was their slogan. Students from all four schools were fitted with explosive collars, designated weapons and daypacks, thrown onto an uncharted island, and forced to fight until only one remained standing.

To date, five remain.

Those five are Bathurst High School's Bryan Calvert, Tori Johnson, and Mariavel Varella and Franklyn Senior High School's Ricky Callahan and Whitney Acosta. Of the remaining five, the only student officially designated as a "player" is Mariavel Varella. Others, most notably Bryan Calvert, have been categorized as "playing selectively". Students such as Tori Johnson and Whitney Acosta have been labelled as "non-players" and are predicted to be fodder for one of the more ambitious competitors. The projected winner, according to various internet polls across the world, is Mariavel Varella, the only member of the competition still outright playing the game. However, in a game like Survival of the Fittest, you never know what's going to happen, and sometimes, dumb luck beats insanity and survival instincts.

It was getting dark outside on the island, and the eerie silence that had enshrouded the entirety of the island was perhaps even more chilling than the echoes of screaming and gunfire. When the public access system set up across the island suddenly squawked to life, it shattered the silence and, quite possibly, startled more than a few of the remaining contestants. The sound of a throat clearing reverberated in the microphone of the public access system for just a moment before the quirky, cheerful voice that the remaining contestants had to be familiar with by now spoke up into the microphone.

"Good evening, children. What a wonderful night it is. Just look at those stars. Aren't they stunning? For most of you, it will probably be the last night you ever see them, so take a good, long look. But, not too long now. I want you to put up a fight. Congratulations, boys and girls, you are Survival of the Fittest's last five contestants remaining. I'm sure most of you have figured that out by now. Surely you've stumbled upon the bodies of the most recently killed contestants in such a limited playing field... but, if you haven't, please allow me to clue you in on who that corpse you just stepped on was."

He chuckled to himself as he stared down at the rather short list of names in front of him. He was almost disappointed at how the game seemed to have suddenly stalemated in the final hours, and for a while, he'd considered randomly detonating one of the contestants' collars just to spice things up a bit, but had ultimately decided against it. They always seemed to lose ratings after the first collar of the season was blown up.

"Early this morning, the first of the final ten, a Miss Jana Brown met her demise at the hand of Rob Adams. It was almost sad, the way she tried to escape the gunfight between Rob and Miss Varella, and instead, wound up running, quite literally, right into the barrel of Rob's gun. Definite case of wrong place, wrong time, sweetheart. But, on the bright side, your brother is still around to share your legacy, because, and I guess you'll never get to hear this, he was never on the island to begin with."

"Things didn't quite come to an end in the park when Jana was tagged as a casualty. When dear Robbie realized what he had done, he was devastated, and in a fit of rage, challenged Mariavel to a fist fight. Now, if Miss Varella had been smart, she'd have shot him then and there and saved that pretty little face of hers a nasty beating. But, she didn't, so the two went round and round in a quaint little fistfight. Well, long story short, Mariavel wound up on the winning end of the fight, and in a last ditch effort not to die by some "psycho murderer" or whatever, Rob shot himself in the heart before she could strangle him to death. I'm not quite sure what he was thinking, but whatever works. Either way, Rob Adams finished as number nine in the final ten."

"Next to die, finishing eighth overall, was Elizabeth Ebert. It seems dear Elizabeth had been hiding in the bushes when Jana died, and throughout the gunfight between Mariavel and Rob. She saw Mariavel kill Jana, and she saw Rob die, and the crazy little girl decided she'd be Wonder Woman and kill Mariavel before she could kill anybody else. The funny thing was, Beth didn't have a weapon. She charged out at Mariavel, who promptly laid her flat with Jana's crossbow. Miss Varella was on quite the roll this morning. I mean, she killed two of the final ten herself and was indirectly responsible for the death of another of the final ten. Kudos, darling."

"Moving right along, though, Vesa Turunen was the next name on our list of kills, offed by another fan favorite, Damien Carter-Madison. What a fight, let me tell you. Even I thought that the Dame was going to be crushed to death by the giant that was Vesa Turunen, and how differently things turned out. Size doesn't matter in this game, kids. This fight was a fine example of that. Damien claimed victory in the battle, and even granted Vesa's dying wish of covering his body with that wretched flag he carried around with him. I'm quite impressed, Mr. Madison. Your mother would be proud."

"But, oh..." Danya continued in a mock melancholy voice, "You'll never be able to hear those words, will you? You see, kids, Damien Carter-Madison was #113th to die in this round of Survival of the Fittest. After a very bloody and painful battle with Mariavel Varella outside of the schoolhouse, Damien managed to stumble all the way to the park, all the way back to the bench where he'd killed Roland Kelly not all that long ago, and he died there, of blood loss, on that bench. Damien's death put us at the final five for this competition, and that, children, is you all."

Danya couldn't help but smile inwardly to himself. Survival of the Fittest was coming to an end once again, and soon, a new winner would emerge from the island. A new winner would shake his hand. Danya's own fingers subconsciously reached up to run his fingertips along the quite visible scar he'd received during his last meeting with a winner of the game, but instead of a frown, a quite devious smile formed across his face. After all, he had such fond memories of that other contestant. He couldn't help but grin with glee when he wondered how this new winner might react to their long-awaited meeting.

"And so, what now, kids? Five of you remain. If none of you die in the next twenty-four hours, you all die. So, I ask you, look back at your time on the island. Look back at your time before. For four of you, you have, at most, twenty-four hours to live. What is it that you will do to make an impact on this game? Mariavel Varella, you've been fighting your whole life. What's another twenty-four hours? Will it be you that eliminates the rest of the competition and emerges as the victor this round? Bryan Calvert... what are your intentions? Only one of you can win, you know. Will it be you... or Tori? What about you, Tori Johnson? Are you willing to die so that Bryan can live? Are you willing to live with yourself knowing that he'll die? You, Ricky Callahan, you claim you've made your choice, but when push comes to shove, would you really kill yourself to save her? Whitney Acosta, will you let him sacrifice himself for you? Is your opinion of yourself so high and mighty that his life means nothing?"

"These are the questions you have to ask yourself, kids, and the answers won't come easy. Within the next twenty-four hours, all but one of you will probably be dead. Make peace with whatever God you believe in now, because time is of the essence. Say your goodbyes, because only one of you is going home. In light of the fact that only five of you remain, the park will now become a dangerzone. When the sun rises tomorrow morning, the hospital will also become a dangerzone. Your final playing field will be the schoolhouse... so appropriate, isn't it? School was the place where it all started, and school is the place it'll end. Congratulations on making it this far, children, and I believe one of the other contestants had the right mindset when she stated... the world is watching."

First Announcement
"Bah, bah da da, bah rum pum pum pum!" Danya mused, tapping his hand in rythm with the tune as he sat in his trademark plush chair and studied the paperwork in front of him, "Goodness, I just LOVE the start of new seasons. Don't you, Dorian?"

"Oh!" Dorian, who had been sitting at a computer not far away suddenly exclaimed, "Y-yes sir. O-of course."

"This season's really got potential, Dorian! Lots and lots of potential! They've already soared above the first season's record for day one. Unfortunately, they're a little behind season two, but what they lacked in kills they're sure making up for in pure brutality, don't you agree?"

"Y-yes sir," Dorian yelped, staring blankly at his computer monitor and attempting to evade his glance from Mr. Danya.

"I've got a lot of hope for these kids," Danya continued, grinning broadly and taking another puff from his cigar, "It's funny how much of a difference a couple years can make. Add two more years of high school into the equation and it doubles all the drama and cinematics! It's simply brilliant, I tell you!"

"Well... of course, sir, b-but..." Dorian trailed off.

"But?" Danya piped up, rising from his chair and pacing in front of his desk.

"W-well sir... it's just that... that..."

"C'mon, c'mon, spit it out!" Danya barked.

"S-sorry sir. It's just that, well, there seem to be a lot of groups this time around... a-and a lot less players, to boot... is all."

"Oh?" Danya responded, his eyebrows raising in curiosity, "How many?"

"Um..." Dorian stuttered, scrolling through a menu on the computer in front of him, "Let's see... one of the largest groups seems to be congregated at the hospital, s-sir. It's B22, Ianto Murphy; B26, Gabe McCallum; B19, Dan Wolfe; G03, Serenity Halos; G06, Viki Valentine, and G08, Evelyn Richinson."

"Sounds like they're having themselves quite the little orgy there," Danya cackled.

A disgusted look passed over Dorian's face and he faded into silence, causing Danya's laughter to become that much louder.

"I'm kidding, you fool! If that's the only group, there's hardly anything to worry about!"

"B-but it isn't, sir. There are several others. There's a large group at the chapel, too. B77's in it, along with about four other students. And another group as sprung up at the marsh, this one's pretty big too. A-and there's another at the hollow tree. A-and another in the jungle, and..."

"Alright, alright. So there are a lot of groups. We've definitely got our players to dwindle down those groups a little bit, but maybe they could use a little hand, you think?"

"W-well sir, at this rate, the students may band together and refuse to participate, a-and... the collars would detonate and ruin the show."

"And we simply can't have that!" Danya exclaimed loudly, slamming his hands down on the desk and causing Dorian to jump visibly, "But don't worry, Dorian! I have the perfect plan. I'll just give everyone a little motivational boost... make them realize that they can't trust their classmates as much as they might have thought. That should do the trick. Then, they'll be slaughtering one another like cattle in no time!"

---

The public access speakers which had been strategically placed inside each sector of the island suddenly sparked to life with a screech, followed by the sound of somebody clearing their throat. Mr. Danya did so love doing the morning announcements. And, he was especially looking forward to this one. He was certain his idea for creating tension and distrust on the island would work like a charm.

"Good morning, Southridge High School!" Danya mused into the microphone, "And congratulations on surviving for one full day on the island! Of course, not all of you survived. I've got to commend you kids, really. In terms of death and mayhem, you guys totalled only three kills behind that crazy group of kids we had last season. Of course, you all did much better than those pathetic little weaklings from Barry Coleson High back in 2005. Two kills on the first day... really now, what kind of joke is that? But! I digress!"

Danya chuckled and the sound of papers shuffling echoed through the microphone for a moment.

"I guess you all want to know who the dead are and all that jazz, right? I guess I can oblige. Over the course of the past day, you all managed to slaughter a whopping nine classmates! And, I've gotta tell ya, some of these deaths were just downright cruel. The very first death on the island was quite interesting. After an extended fight, Nathanial Harris decided to get creative and used a pool of his own blood to electrocute Josh Goodman. Props to you, Nathanial, for your creativity. But really, kid, couldn't you have picked a different victim? Given Mr. Goodman's previous history, I was hoping he'd be quite the little game motivator. Then again, even less people would be suspecting you, now wouldn't they?"

Danya once again laughed before continuing on down the list.

"The second on our list of kills was just as gruesome as the first. You all remember dear Heather Tilmitt, don't you? She died next. Her baby's daddy was off his rocker, that's all I have to say. They found one another in the hospital, had a spat, and Lance Barrett wound up stabbing her to death with the little saw we gave him before he cut her fetus right out of her body! It was quite gruesome. Around the same time, everybody's favorite giant, Gabriel Theobaldt, was in the graveyard devestating the little group of idiots who had decided to hole up there. Unfortunately, he only scored one kill, Jason Foley. If he'd been smart, he'd have killed Will Sigurwhosawhatsitkid and Christian Rydell too. Shame on you, Gabriel!"

"Moving right along though, our next kill goes to a student who was already a pre-existing murderer outside of the school, and no, unfortunately, I'm not talking about Adam Dodd. Though I'm sure our dear fan favorite would have killed already if we hadn't given him such a crappy weapon! But no, I'm talking about Bobby Jacks! You see, Mr. Jacks encountered Tyson Neills on the riverbank not long after waking up on the island. Tyson was looking for friends, comfort, companionship. Instead, Bobby only saw the pretty little gun we gave Tyson, and, well, that was more than enough reason for Bobby to take the needle we gave him and put it through Tyson's skull! That put Mr. Neills as our fourth death of the day."

And that was that. That was Danya's devious, diabolical plan for planting the seeds of distrust in the heads of all the students on the island. It wasn't as if he was completely deceiving them. More like... romanticizing the truth just a little bit. People like Bobby Jacks were playing the game anyway, so they shouldn't mind being made to look even better, right? Danya sure hoped not. Making them out to be vicious, brutal murderers was a lot of fun, after all. The older man smiled a toothy smile and let out a light chuckle before clearing his throat and shuffling through his papers once again.

"Moving right along, fifth on my little list of the dead is Lance Barrett.. It seems one of my favorite little psychopaths didn't get to experience the joys of fatherhood for very long at all. After carving up Heather like a Christmas turkey and cutting her baby right out of her womb, Lance decided to hang around the hospital for a while. Apparently, it wasn't a very smart move on his part. Melina Frost had been hiding inside the hospital and had seen the whole messy scene go down, and I guess that in some weird form of vigilante justice, she felt the need to blow Lance's head apart at close range for his troubles. Now he's the headless horseman! Bahaha. Of course, even if she hadn't killed him, Paul Smith probably would have."

Danya let out a low chuckle and rubbed the side of his head slightly.

"By the way, hospital group? If you wouldn't mind, could you bury that nasty little fetus laying on the ground outside the hospital? Leaving a baby to rot in the sun? Really now, that's just morbid, even for this game. Shame on you people! You should have some decency. Hahaha! I suppose that brings me on to death number six. This one's a doozy, kiddos, so pay close attention while I tell you the story. Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a group of students who foolishly thought that they could band together and save one another from the horrors of the program! Well, one of these kids was a girl named Madison Conner, who had a schizophrenic fit when the group barricaded themselves inside the lookout tower and shot her friend Izzy Cheung. Unfortunately for Madison, she was a horrible shot and didn't manage to kill Izzy, but she did manage to turn her whole group against her."

"Enter Charlie Burchman, a very unlucky little man who wandered into the wrong place at the wrong time. Poor Charlie came into the tower looking for shelter and friendship! Know what the poor guy got in return? A bunch of paranoid kids who thought poor Charlie was trying to kill them! Wanna know what Charlie got for his troubles? This is where it gets confusing, kids, so pay attention. Keith Jackson was the first to attack, shooting poor Charlie at close range with his shotgun. Twice! Now, Charlie didn't wanna die, you see, so he started swinging his golf club around like a madman and got busted in the head by Izzy Cheung for his troubles. It was Ivye Dewley who delivered the coup d'etat, though, when she shoved a grenade down the boy's throat! It might have been a collaborative death, but sorry Keith and Izzy! Ivye's the one who finished Charlie off, so I've gotta give her credit for getting our sixth kill of the day!"

He couldn't help but smile. If he couldn't make more people play the game, he'd simply have to make it sound like more people were playing the game. And besides, he wasn't lying. Just twisting words a little bit. Keith and Izzy had attacked Charlie. Nobody on the island needed to know that it had been in self-defense. All he had to do was consistently twist stories to make the students look like crazed killers and in no time flat, people'd be offing one another like rabbits for fear of being killed themselves. It was such a simple idea with such potentially devastating consequences. It made Danya giddy just thinking about it.

"But Mr. Danya, this is madness! No. This is SPARTA!" Danya blurted out before bursting into a fit of laughter which lasted several minutes. Moments later, it stopped, and the large man took a deep breath before continuing, "Really now, Mr. Villa. You've been watching far too many movies. In case you all haven't guessed, Eduardo Trinidad-Villa scored kill number seven for the day, with a little assistance from Nathanial Harris... or at least, the pool of blood he used to electrocute Josh Goodman. His victim? Tanya Bonneville. Long story short, the stupid cow impaled herself on Eduardo's sword and he proceeded to kick her Leonidas-style into the electrofied pool of blood and fry her. Such a pity."

A fake sob escaped Danya's lips before the smug man grinned once again.

"Now that I've shed a tear of sadness, I'll be moving along to death number eight for the day. Tegan Bianco.. Most of you are probably wondering who the heck this girl was. From what my sources tell me, she was quite the unsociable little creature. Anyway, I wish I could tell you she went out with a bang, but it was more like a ... well, crunch. Hahaha. Tegan didn't wanna play my little game, you see, so the silly little girl hurled herself off the sea cliffs and into the rocky waters below. But, on the bright side, that's one less person you all have to kill! And that brings me to my final death of the day, Alex Steele. Let's see. Alex's game went horribly awry when resident loudmouth Guy Rapide burst into the mess hall and ruined his little party. Alex spazzed out, Guy spazzed out, the two wound up fighting, and Guy decided the right thing to do would be to lock poor Alex in the deep freeze!"

Danya started laughing, apparently finding the event itself quite funny. He laughed so hard that he snorted before breaking off into a light wheeze and finally stopping.

"I wish I could tell you that Alex froze to death, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The crazy little guy started firing the pistol we so graciously gave him ninety to nothing trying to get outta the freezer. Long story short, he got hit with his own bullet when it ricocheted off the side of the wall. And that concludes the deaths for day numero uno. Like I said, I'm pretty impressed with you guys overall, but I'd like to see you up the ante a little bit for today, alrighty? You people were offing one another like crazy this morning, and I'm disappointed to say that it's died down a little bit. Because of that, I think I'll be setting some dangerzones for this next portion of the game. You all read your handbooks like good little patsies, didn't you? I hope you did, because it's good to know that dangerzones, just like their name implies, are quite dangerous."

He coughed for a moment and stared down at the map in front of him, pondering just which sectors he should designate as dangerzones.

"I think... I'm going to make three!" Danya announced giddily into the microphone, "First of all, we've just got way too many people in the church! That simply won't do! So, the chapel is going to be the first designated dangerzone of the game! Secondly... let's see... how about the lookout tower? Yes, I think that'll be dangerzone number two. Finally and thirdly, the last dangerzone... let's see... the showers. Get out of there, you stinking kids! Bahaha! But seriously, you have five minutes to vacate the area before I blow your collars! Have a great day, everyone! Get out there and kill 'em all dead!"

Before Danya turned the microphone off, a lightbulb seemed to suddenly appear over his head and he jerked his head away from the speaker, making a loud noise in the microphone so as to keep the attention of the students that was probably diverting away from the announcements by now.

"I almost forgot!" Danya exclaimed loudly, "One more thing! Due to popular demand, the Best Kill Award is back? Know that that means, duckies? That means that if you kill somebody real good, and the boys around the office like it, we'll give ya an even better weapon to kill people with! We're awarding today's prize to B27, Mr. Nathanial Harris, for his cool little electrofied blood trick! This is how this is gonna work. B27, head on over to the sea cliffs A.S.A.P."

"Nobody get any bright ideas and try to follow Nathanial, though. The Sea Cliffs will become a temporary dangerzone for the morning. Once you enter the area, Nathanial, your collar will be deactivated and will not receive the dangerzone signal. It will, however, still be active should you try to remove it, and you'll blow your head off. Anyone who enters the area other than Nathanial will have their collar detonated, so if you're going to try to steal his weapon, please, wait in the bushes OUTSIDE of the dangerzone."

"Now, Mr. Harris. If you take too long and we get tired of waiting on you, we'll reopen the area and any Mr. Nobody can come and steal your weapon. We run the show here, we don't have all day to wait on you. When you enter the area, you'll find a crate with your weapon inside. Sounds all hunky-dorey, right? Of course it does! Get moving, Mr. Harris. I don't like my time being wasted! This is Danya, over and out!"

Second Announcement
'''blitzkrieg167 has entered the "SOTF Discussion" Chatroom. ReallyScooby2k: yo! BRADLEY075: Hey Blitz! blitzkrieg167: hi ElleUnlimited: So, a new season of SOTF is upon us. Seriously guys, I think this is the coolest show EVER! JimmyEatGod: my favrit caracter is gabriel teobalt. hes cool. ReallyScooby2k: whaaaat? that guyz a fool! ElleUnlimited: Well, who's your favorite, Scooby? ReallyScooby2k: mm, prolly like eduardo or watever his name is. seems like he culd be a big villan. ElleUnlimited: How about you, Blitz? Any preferences? blitzkrieg167: hmm. well, i'm a big adam dodd fan, for sure. blitzkrieg167: my favorite villain's probably that blood boy kid, and for the girls i like izzy and kallie. BRADLEY075: Man, Izzy's hot. I've always had a thing for asians. '''ThePretzel has entered the "SOTF Discussion" Chatroom ThePretzel: What up, bitchez? BRADLEY075: Oh hey Pretz. We're just talking about how hot Izzy is in SOTF. ElleUnlimited: Adam Dodd? That ship's been done all over again. The fact he's back makes me wonder if it isn't fake. ReallyScooby2k: like survivor rite? ThePretzel: Haha, exactly. Izzy's okay but how about those guys she's with? Keith and Trey? Mmmmm, scrrrrumptious! :-D JimmyEatGod: thos guys r totly fags! blitzkrieg167: you think so, jimmy? JimmyEatGod: i red this fic abot them and i culd totly see it hapinning. blitzkrieg167: oh man, speaking of fics, i read one the other day that took place in the church, you know, when that big group all showed up there, and it was something like adam/kallie/sean/andy/matt. it was pretty raunchy, even for my tastes, and i'm normally into stuff like that! ElleUnlimited: Yeah, I've read some pretty raunchy fics myself. Pretzel writes his fair share, too. ThePretzel: And proud of it. *wink wink* ReallyScooby2k: i red a fic about nadine + galen 2, it waz sad when they died yesterday tho ThePretzel: You should see some of the new onez I've been putting up, I'm really proud of a few of them. now if only they'd happen in real life too. *sigh* ElleUnlimited: Anything beats that old Sydney Morvran one from way back in the day. Anyone remember that kid? BRADLEY075: LMAO Sydney, wasn't even the best Sidney either. ReallyScooby2k: i dont think sotf evr had any1 named cooper yet did they? sidneys so common ThePretzel: Not yet, I don't think, no. Anyone read my new fic? Just came out today. ElleUnlimited: Which one's that, Pretz? Was that Guy Rapide, Alice Jones, and Gabriel Theobaldt? 'Cause that one was just downright scary. ReallyScooby2k: lollerskates i <3 guy, hes so funny ThePretzel: No, that was last weeks. I put out Kallie Majors/Melissa Diaz lesbian fic yesterday, and today I came up with my crown jewel. JimmyEatGod: EWWWWWWWW tht wuz adam+ danya rite? that was grosssssss! ElleUnlimited: ...you scare me sometimes, Pretz. Wouldn't you say so, blitz? blitzkrieg167: haha, yeah, pretz puts out some strange ones sometimes. a lot of people seem to ship the danya/adam thing, but i personally dont see why. they hate one another, or at least it seems that way. that danya guy is always taking shots at adam, and vice versa. makes me wonder if the whole thing really is scripted or something sometimes. either way, its fun to watch! BRADLEY075: That Kallie and Melissa fic was pretty hot, imo! I read teh funniest pairing last night! Somebody wrote this fic where Ken Lawson was paired with Burton Harris! blitzkrieg167: wasn't that the body double kid or whatever? i read the story in sotf weekly the other day and apparently they're both real people and like... switched places and both got put into the game. how crazy is that? ReallyScooby2k: ommfg, you know wat i read earlier? fukin' blood boy/boxer/mary. who tha hell came up wit that?! ThePretzel: Can't blame that one on me. I'm working on a Darnell/Eduardo/Boxer rape story. ElleUnlimited: As if there hasn't been enough of that in SOTF. :\\ ReallyScooby2k: ZOMG CODYJENSEN. hes a rapitst rite? ElleUnlimited: ...yes, Scooby. You're the only one who still talks about that kid, anyway. ThePretzel: No real rape stories yet on the island, anyway. Fics're one thing, but how about legitimate hookups? Anyone seeing Izzy turning to one of her strong beefy manfriends? Can Alice look past Guy's small stature? WHat about Corbin and Khystrya? Or whatever her damn name is? Or even Mary? Pregnant chicks need lovin too, right? *wink wink* ElleUnlimited: Izzy has a thing with Dodd, remember? And he's with Julie, who has a thing for that mystery guy. BRADLEY075: I bet my bro 50 bucks that dodd and julie hook up ThePretzel: Haha. I wouldn't take that bet. What the heck do girls see in Dodd, anyway? He's fugly. I'd rather have someone like Darnell pouring hot lotion all over my chest...mmmm. But Dodd? NO thanks. ElleUnlimited: That was a mental picture I didn't really need. I think the big question is if anyone's ever going to be able to pull off an escape. I'd say it's all but impossible but you never know. Hookups? That'll happen on it's own. This season's been good enough though... ReallyScooby2k: nobudy wil ever get out, danyas not that dumm BRADLEY075: Thats true, hes probably sitting in some room somewhere plotting his next diabolical scheme, listening to forums + chats for ideas. I've seen some pretty good ones you know. ThePretzel: Who knows, Brad, you could be Danya himself! Or you, Blitz. Or you, Elle. Hell, even I could be Danya. *wink wink* JimmyEatGod: no wy pretzel ur more crayzee then danya is for sure =P blitzkrieg167: i think danya has way better things to do with his time. haha! man, they released some pictures of his wife in sotf weekly. that chick is bangin hot! ElleUnlimited: I saw that picture! I don't think that's REALLY his wife though. It's got to be a publicity stunt or something. ReallyScooby2k: naw man, i bet thats really her. danya likes them yunger women. hes got the rite idea. if it was me, and i was put into that game, id be bangin all the bitches i could b4 i died! like, everbody. even if they was ugly. jus put a bag over theyre hed and go on, ya know? JimmyEatGod: hell ya! blitzkrieg167: but as for hookups? lets see... guy and alice is gonna happen, you know its just a matter of time. he cant get kallie, he's like a foot shorter than her. she'll probably hook up with darnell or keith or something. seems like she wants to find them a little too badly to me. i think will and christian are gonna turn out to be in gay love with one another or something. and i think brad and terrie is gonna happen, probably adam and julie too, though i personally think i like adam/izzy. ElleUnlimited: Will and Christian would be sexy. blitzkrieg167: uh-oh, i think the boss is coming. better skidaddle, people! BRADLEY075: Bye Blitz! blitzkrieg167 has left the Chatroom.

---

The rapping sound that echoed out from Danya's doorway was nothing more than a nuisance, at best. It was such a pity that he had been interrupted during his personal chat time. After all, he so enjoyed receiving the fans' opinions of Survival of the Fittest. In fact, he'd been doing this since the first season of SOTF was aired on television. The fansites, the flash games, the fanfiction... Danya revelled in all the free shipping that SOTF had received since it had first been shown on the air. Granted, it was the accidental reading of a particularly raunchy (at least in his opinion) fanfiction involving season one contestants Jacob Starr and Uriel Hunter that had caused three of his best henchmen to be thrown onto the island two years ago. Well, that, and the fact that Shannon McLocke had called him "pathetic".

"Yes, yes, what IS it?" Danya called out annoyedly toward the door.

The faint squeaking sound reverberated through the office and a tall figure, toned, tanned, and roughly 6'4" in height, stepped through the open door. Despite his intimidating appearance, his eyes were trained on the floor, almost as if refusing to make contact with Danya's eyes. It was for good reason, after all. The man ran a hand through his messily fixed brown hair before shutting the door behind him. His eyes remained trained on the ground as he spoke out in a low, gruff voice.

"Sir."

"You know I don't like to be disturbed when I'm in my office."

"Yes sir. Grossi requested that I turn his report in to you. He's currently unavailable."

The man shifted uncomfortably to the side.

"Oh?" Danya mused, rising from his seated position in front of the laptop and moving over to stand next to the man, who was considerably taller than himself. Danya grinned widely as he took the stack of papers from the soldier's hand and flipped through them, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he skimmed over the information detailed within the files. He turned his back to his companion and moved back over to his desk, allowing himself to sink back into the plush chair behind the large mahogany object. His lips curled into a cheshire grin once again as he looked at the soldier standing uncomfortably in the doorway, "According to Grossi's report, our little season three bunch is causing quite the ruckus down on the island. Seems they're destroying cameras left and right. Must be some silly sort of retaliation for forcing them into the game."

"Mm..." he muttered simply, his arms folding over his chest as his gaze remained averted to the side.

"I think they want attention, how 'bout you? People do lots of stupid things for attention... wouldn't you agree?"

"...Sir."

"I think... we might have to give them more attention than they can handle."

"Sir."

A light yawn escaped Danya's lips, and just as quickly, the playful grin that seemed to be perpetually emblazoned on his face reappeared. He leaned back in his chair far enough to prop his feet up on the edge of his desk before taking his laptop into his lap. Unfortunately, the juicy little piece of fanfiction he was about to read would have to wait. It was time for the morning announcements, and as much as he wanted to read the kinky little piece of artwork involving Adam Dodd and a figment of his imagination, it would simply have to wait until after the announcements were over.

"By the way..." Danya smirked, his attention shooting back to the soldier waiting to be dismissed, "I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but I just wanted to say... it's so very good to have you back. We've missed you around here."

His tone was sarcastic, and the playful grin on his face made it hard to tell if he was being sincere or joking. The soldier simply grunted in response before Danya waved his hand, indicating that he could leave the room. The man wasted no time in doing so, shutting the door behind him and letting out a long and labored sigh. The guys running the show at SOTF might have missed him, but the feeling definitely wasn't mutual. His fingers reached up to trace the faint scar just above his brow, and slowly moved down to the eyepatch that covered the eye underneath.

---

"Goooooood moooooorning children!" the annoyingly cheery voice of Danya boomed from the public access speakers scattered across the island, "So, it's not quite as pretty as it was yesterday out there. Looks a little bit overcast, maybe it'll rain or something. I dunno. Besides that, rain is probably the least of your worries right now. On the bright side, at least it's a little cooler out there! I can't have you guys and gals dying of heat exhaustion or anything, now. It's so much more fun watching you maim and mutilate one another. Of course, that brings me to the point of this announcement, which is to tell you who's dead and who's a murdering psychopath. So, let's get on with it, then!"

"First of all, I've gotta say, you people have really upped the ante from the first day and gotten the lead out. I'm pretty impressed. We had nearly twenty kills yesterday! How 'bout that? Well, on with the deaths then. Tenth to die yesterday morning was Karl Van Buren. Who DIDN'T see this one coming? This kid had the worst luck I've ever seen! I'll give you the short version. Karl and Troy McCann were doing it in the shower when Beth Vandelinder walked in and broke up their party. Gabriel Theobaldt followed her in there and they'd all probably have had some crazy kind of orgy or something except for the fact that I declared it a dangerzone. So, Beth and Troy hightailed it outta there and left Gabriel with Karl. I'll be honest, I was expecting some sodomization or something, but Gabriel just snapped the kid's neck and went on his way."

"The second death of the day was Owen Fontaine. To be honest, this one made me kind of sad. I liked this kid, and so did the viewers," Danya let out a fake sob, "Anyway, this crazy looking asian kid named Harry Tsai jumped him and tried to kill him, but Adam Dodd and Julie Mikan intervened and thought that Owen was the one attacking Harry. Long story short, Julie shot Owen instead of the guy that was playing. Good job, Julie!"

Even over the PA system, Danya's sarcasm was readily apparent.

"So yeah, he's dead. Number twelve to die was Evelyn Richinson. Ever wonder why your mom told you not to run with scissors, kids? Evelyn was probably the perfect example of that. She tripped, jammed the scalpel we gave her into an artery, and that was that. She bled to death within a couple seconds. Thirteenth to die was Luis Chezinski, who was strangled to death by Brenden Bedard for not rushing to his aide whenever James Brown went all crazy and attacked them both."

"Fourteenth down was the lovely miss Kara Holmes, although I guess she isn't so lovely now. She ran into Nathanial Harris at the sea cliffs, predictably started running her mouth, and dear Nate decided to shut her up... for good. Basically, he chopped her foot off, shoved it in her mouth, then dropped the firecrackers we gave her inside her mouth and blew her jaw clean off. Of course, her actual cause of death was suffocation from the foot wedged halfway in her throat, but I'd imagine she died very painfully... just the way we like it here at headquarters."

"Fifteenth to die, rather predictably, was Randy Flagg, slaughtered by Keith Jackson. Randy met up with the group in the jungle, and tried to jump on the bandwagon. Of course, it's sort of hard to jump on the bandwagon when you want to kill the people sitting on it, so of course, when Randy tried to stab Keith with his pickaxe, Keith turned around and shot the guy full of lead. Meanwhile, at the sea cliffs, Rebbecca Bradbury was busy becoming sixteenth on our list of the dead. Apparently, she'd been hiding in the bushes or something when good ole' Nate took care of Kara Holmes, and I guess it got her hot or something, 'cause she came out and started talking to him. Of course, if you guys haven't figured it out by now, Nathanial isn't the kind of guy who likes to talk, so instead of hanging out with her, he chopped off her arm and raped her with it. Course, she died of blood loss and all that fun stuff."

"Seventeenth was Kristin Washington. Kristin ran into a big group of people hanging out at the hollow tree and decided she'd help them patch up. Know what she got for her troubles? A bullet to the back of the head by Viktor Kurchatov, who tried to tell the group that 'he was just trying to help because she was going to kill them'. I smell bullshit, does anyone else? Unfortunately, that little group didn't kill Viktor like they probably should've, so now he'll probably be the death of them all!"

"Next down was Troy McCann. Apparently, Gabriel wasn't happy just killing Karl, so he decided to off Troy too. I think Gabriel's a homophobe, personally. He chopped Troy's arm off, a page he probably took out of Nathanial's book, then proceeded to tear off Troy's manhood and shove it down his throat before he finally gave the guy a break and beheaded him. SO yeah, that made Troy... or maybe I should call him Tonya now, number eighteen on my little list of the dead. Nineteen was Brenden Bedard, who died in quite possibly the stupidest way ever. He tripped, fell, hit his head on a rock, and died. The end. Boohoo."

"Dan Wolfe wasn't too far behind him. He did exactly the same thing that Evelyn Richinson did. He even fell on the same scalpel! What stupidity! You people have got to be the clumsiest people I have ever seen! He was also shot and robbed by Bobby Jacks, but, you know. On a more emotional note, Adwin Green was shot in the back by Paul Smith when she turned on his group and tried to attack Corbin Arlen. It was kind of sad, I guess. She gave the whole 'Paul... why?!" speech before she kicked the bucket, too."

"Next up on our list of the dead is Katherine Blanco. Sometimes, kiddos, you don't have to wait around for the competition to kill you. Some of you are so imperfect that Mother Nature decides to do it herself. That's what happened to poor Katherine. You see, Katherine was allergic to bees. She got stung while running around the island, and she died almost immediately from an allergic reaction. Sucks to be her! Next was Nigel Gillespie, killed by Dominica Shapiro. Don't let the fairer sex fool you into thinking they're weak, guys. I definitely wasn't pegging Dominica to win that fight, but she managed to kill Nigel!"

"We're slowly starting to wind down to the end of the list, but the deaths don't get any less interesting! Twenty-fourth down was Ric Chee, who was killed by Bobby Jacks. Then there was Burt... Ken... ahhh... Burken Larris! That's what I'm gonna call him, 'cause he can't seem to decide if he's Burton Harris or Ken Lawson. But yeah, this idiot managed to cheat death once before only to fall into an open hole at the graveyard and manage to get himself buried alive. Hey, at least you got buried in a cemetary, Burken! Most of these kids won't even get that! Numbers twenty-seven and twenty-eight are the last names on the list, being Galen Neilson and his girlfriend Nadine Willowbrook. I don't really know WHAT happened here. Apparently, they had a bad breakup on the island or something. Nadine shot Galen with a spear, Galen speared Nadine off the cliff. They both died!"

Danya smirked and cleared his throat before continuing.

"So I guess that winds up all the dead people, and we can move on to the other stuff. Effective immediately, the chapel, the lookout tower, and the showers are cleared as dangerzones. Because I'm feeling generous, I'm only going to set one today, and that's going to be the northern shore. Run while you can, kiddies! And last but not least, I've got to announce the winner of the daily Best Kill Award. Today, that award goes to a former member of my squad's little sextoy, Julie Mikan! Now Julie, the swinging bridge will be declared a temporary dangerzone that only you can access until you come pick up your weapon. We felt it was appropriate, what with you killing Owen there and all. Haha! But, don't dilly-dally! We don't have all day to wait on you, and we can ALWAYS just reopen the zone and give your new toy to someone else!"

"I guess I'll conclude this announcement with this message. Keep on fighting, children! Remember, if you don't kill your best friend, they might kill you!"